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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


EXERCISES 


CONNECTED  WITH  TI1E 


fcettmg  of  the  (Msuwilt  HJomtmcM, 


MECHANICVILLE, 


May  27,  1874. 


ALBANY,  N.  T. : 
JOEL    MUNSELL 

1875. 


WITHDRAWN 

frtiifi  th«  c.  h.  s, 


J 


^>ttG9 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Ellsworth  Monument  Association 

held  at  the  residence  of  Capt.  E.  D.  Ellsworth,  April  30th, 

1875,  it  was  unanimously  voted  that  the  balance  of  money 

in  the  treasury,  $270.60,  be  appropriated  to  the  publication 

of  the  proceedings  at  the  inauguration  of  the  monument, 

as  a  memorial  volume. 

Bernice  D.  Ames, 

Secretary. 


3fn  09emortam* 


MONUMENT  TO  COL.  ELLSWORTH. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

BY  REV.  BERNICE  DARWIN  AMES,  A.M. 

While  Col.  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth  was  stationed  at  Wash- 
ington with  his  regiment  of  Fire  Zouaves,  in  the  spring  of 
1861,  Willard's  Hotel  took  fire.  The  Eire  Zouaves  were  of 
great  service  in  putting  an  end  to  the  conflagration.  In  tes- 
timony of  his  gratitude,  Mr.  Willard  presented  Col.  Ells- 
worth with  $500 ;  Col.  Ellsworth  sent  it  to  the  New  York 
fire  committee,  under  whose  auspices  the  regiment  had 
been  raised,  to  be  devoted  to  providing  medals  for  such 
members  of  the  regiment  as  should  survive.  On  the  death 
of  Col.  Ellsworth  the  committee  voted  to  appropriate  the 
money  to  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  his  memory.  A 
general  interest  was  felt  in  the  erection  of  such  a  monu- 
ment, and  in  Saratoga  county  a  committee  to  take  charge 
of  the  matter  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Hon.  James  B. 
McKean,  Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard  and  Lewis  E.  Smith,  with 
Gen.  James  M.  Cook  as  treasurer. 

It  is  believed  that  considerable  sums  of  money  wero 
raised  at  this  time  throughout  the  country  and  in  the  army 
for  the  Ellsworth  monument,  but  if  so  it  is  not  known  what 
became  of  it,  for  very  little  ever  reached  this  committee. 
The  momentous  events  of  the  war  followed  in  such  rapid 
succession,  that  the  subject  of  building  monuments  for  fallen 
heroes  was  driven  from  the  minds  of  the  people,  the  absorb- 
ing question  was,  how  can  the  life  of  the  nation  be  saved  ? 


6 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  occasional  attempts  were  made 
to  proceed  with  the  matter,  but  all,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
were  fruitless.  In  the  meantime,  Col.  Noah  L.  Farnham, 
the  lieutenant  colonel  and  successor  of  Col.  Ellsworth  in 
command  of  the  regiment,  had  died  of  wounds  received  at 
Bull  Run,  and  half  of  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the  New 
York  fire  committee  had  been  devoted  to  the  erection  of  a 
monument  to  his  memory.  Among  other  ways  in  which 
the  matter  was  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  the  people  of 
Mechanicville,  the  subject  was  repeatedly  agitated  in  the 
Mechanicville  Star  in  1871,  the  only  apparent  result  of  which 
was  the  eliciting  of  the  following  letter  which  explains 
itself : 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Mechanicville  Star  : 

Sir:  My  attention  was  called  to-day  to  an  article  in 
your  paper  of  May  6th  in  relation  to  the  Ellsworth  monu- 
ment fund,  the  writer  of  which  does  not  appear  to  me 
to  be  fully  conversant  with  the  history  of  the  fund  in  my 
hands,  .and  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  better  understand- 
ing of  the  matter  I  make  the  following  explanation  : 

While  Col.  Ellsworth  with  his  regiment  of  Fire  Zouaves 
was  in  Washington,  a  fire  occurred  at  Willard's  Hotel, 
threatening  a  very  extensive  conflagration.  Through  the 
activity  and  daring  displayed  by  the  members  of  the  regi- 
ment its  progress  was  staj-ed,  and  the  hotel  saved  from  de- 
struction. This  was  so  highly  appreciated  by  Mr.  AVillard, 
that  he  gave  to  Col.  Ellsworth  $500  for  the  use  of  the  regi- 
ment. This  money  the  colonel  gave  over  to  our  committee 
just  before  the  advance  on  Alexandria  where  the  colonel 
lost  his  life.  Our  committee,  that  is  the  committee  that  or- 
ganized and  equipped  the  first  regiment  of  Fire  Zouaves, 
have  with  this  .$500  added  a  balance  of  unexpeuded  money 
remaining  in  their  hands  after  the  war,  and  judiciously  in- 
vested the  same,  until  about  the  1st  of  January  last  it 
amounted  to  $1,261.  At  a  meeting  of  the  committee  at 
that  time,  it  was  decided  by  vote  that  the  money  be  equally 
divided  and  appropriated  for  monuments  to  the  memory 


of  Col.  Ellsworth,  and  Col.  Farnham,  the  successor  of 
Col.  Ellsworth  in  command  of  the  regiment,  whose  death 
was  caused  by  wounds  received  at  Bull  Run.  This  money 
has  been  placed  in  my  hands  for  distribution,  and  the 
only  restrictions  regarding  it  are  that  some  recognition  of 
the  Volunteer  Fire  Department  of  New  York,  from  which 
the  regiment  was  organized,  should  be  placed  on  the 
monument  and  that  satisfactory  evidence  be  given  me  of 
the  erection  of  the  monument,  our  object  being  to  have 
the  money  expended  for  that  purpose  and  no  other. 

I  have  placed  the  money  in  the  Metropolitan  Savings 
Bank  of  this  city  and  will  pay  the  same  over  with  the  ac- 
cumulation, as  soon  as  the  monument  is  erected,  being 
$G30.50  with  interest  from  1st  January  last. 

Yours  respectfully, 
A.  F.  Ockershausen,  380  South  St., 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the 

First  Regiment  Fire  Zouaves. 
New  York,  June  1st,  1871. 

In  the  summer  of  1872,  Rev.  Hiram  Dunn  volunteered 
to  enter  the  field  to  canvass  for  subscriptions  for  the  Ells- 
worth monument  fund.  His  movement,  and  the  frequent 
notices  of  it  in  the  papers,  had  a  favorable  effect  by  calling 
public  attention  to  the  matter.  The  Ellsworth  monument 
committee  have  received  from  the  uncollected  subscrip- 
tions, handed  to  them  by  the  Rev.  Hiram  Dunn,  the  sum 
of  §125  for  the  monument  fund.  Daring  the  same  sum- 
mer a  letter  was  received  by  Mr.  Abiram  Fellows  from 
his  nephew,  Col.  John  R.  Fellows,  suggesting  that  an  or- 
ganization should  be  effected  to  take  charge  of  the  erection 
of  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Col.  Ellsworth,  and 
offering  to  give  $100  towards  it.  Enough  people  now 
seemed  to  be  interested  in  the  movement,  in  addition 
to  those  who  had  long  been  ready  and  waiting  for  action, 
to  give  good  promise  of  a  successful  result.  After  con- 
sultation the  following  call  was  immediately  drawn  up  and 
circulated  and  the  names  appended  were  secured : 


8 

"  Since  a  promising  movement  has  been  inaugurated  for 

raising  funds  to  erect  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 

late  Col.  Ellsworth,  and  since   it  is  desirable  that  there 

should  be  a  responsible  organization  located  at  Mechanic- 

ville  to  take  charge  of  the  matter,  we  the  undersigned  hereby 

request  our  fellow  citizens  of  Mechanicville  and  vicinity 

to  meet  us  for  the  purpose  of  forming  such  an  association 

on  Friday  evening,  Aug.  23d,  at  7  o'clock,  at  the  new  public 

hall. 

Bernice  D.  Ames,      L.  E.  Smith, 

Charles  Wheeler,     E.  Lockwood, 

J.  F.  Terry,  Eichard  Richards, 

Aeiram  Fellows,       W.  W.  Smith, 

E.  C.  Chase,  John  W.  Smith. 

H.  K.  Cornell, 

"  Mechanicville,  Aug.  19th,  1872." 

XAMIXG  of  officers. 

At  the  time  named  a  meeting  was  held  which  adjourned 
till  the  next  evening,  Aug.  24th.  At  the  adjourned  meeting, 
Mr.  Charles  A.  Hem  street  was  chosen  President,  and  Mr. 
H.  S.  Loper  Secretary.  At  this  meeting  an  Ellsworth 
Monument  Association  was  organized  by  the  choice  of  the 
following  officers,  viz :  Mr.  Abiram  Fellows,  President ; 
Prof.  Bernice  D.  Ames,  Secretary;  Mr.  H.  K.  Cornell, 
Treasurer.  A  committee  to  have  the  whole  charge  of  erect- 
ing the  monument  was  also  chosen,  which  at  their  first 
meeting  was  increased  to  include  the  following  members, 
viz :  Messrs.  C.  A.  Hemstreet,  Job  G.  Viall,  James  C. 
Rice,  Alonzo  Howland,  Henry  K.  Cornell,  Ephraim 
D.  Ellsworth,  Abiram  Fellows,  Prof.  Bernice  D.  Ames, 
Mechanicville,  Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard,Troy,  Hon.  T.  G. Young- 
love,  Crescent,  Col.  W.  B.  French,  Saratoga  Springs,  John 
R.  Fellows  and  A.  F.  Ockershausen,  New  York,  Fernando 
Jones,  Chicago.  In  reality  this  committee  constituted  the 
Ellsworth  Monument  Association.     The  first  meeting  of 


9 

the  committee  was  held  at  the  office  of  the  Treasurer, 
August  27th,  to  complete  their  organization  and  commence 
operations.  Meetings  of  the  committee  were  held  from 
time  to  time  in  furtherance  of  their  design.  At  a  meeting 
held  Nov.  loth,  1872,  a  contract  was  entered  into  with  Geo. 
F.  White,  Rutland,  Vt,  to  furnish  and  erect  the  monument. 
The  legislature  of  the  state  of  New  York,  at  its  session  held 
in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1873,  under  the  lead  of  Gen. 
George  S.  Batcheller  appropriated  $2000  for  the  Ellsworth 
monument.  This  liberal  appropriation,  which  was  unani- 
mously voted,  rendered  the  movement  an  assured  success, 
and  greatly  lightened  the  subsequent  labors  of  the  com- 
mittee. It  was  soon  after  determined  to  improve  the  monu- 
ment which  had  been  already  ordered,  by  the  addition  of  a 
bronze  medallion  of  Col.  Ellsworth  to  be  placed  upon  one 
face  of  the  die  and  a  bronze  easvLe  to  surmount  the  shaft. 


THE  MONUMENT. 

After  unexpected  delays  the  monument  was  erected 
early  in  November,  1873,  and  on  the  fifth  of  that  month 
the  committee  visited  and  examined  it,  and  on  motion  voted 
to  accept  it  as  completed,  but  on  account  of  the  lateness 
of  the  season,  it  was  decided  to  postpone  the  ceremonies 
attending  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  until  the  follow- 
ing May.  "Beautiful  for  situation,"  like  Mount  Zion,  is 
the  Ellsworth  monument.  It  stands  in  the  picturesque 
cemetery  lately  named  the  Ellsworth  cemetery,  situated 
upon  the  brow  of  the  hill  a  little  south-west  of  the  village. 
It  is  located  in  the  Ellsworth  family  lot  near  the  center  of 
the  cemetery  and  is  by  far  the  most  commanding  object  in  it. 
Seen  from  the  village,  and  a  large  section  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  the  monument  is  a  beautiful  and  prominent 
object. 

The  material  of  which  the  monument  is  made  is  Quincy 
granite,  and  it  is  finished  with  a  ten-cut  finish.  The  monu- 
ment is  five  feet  square  at  the  base,  and  about  twenty-five 
feet  in  height  and  is  beautifully  proportioned.     On  the 


10 

front  side  of  the  base,  which  looks  towards  the  west,  is  the 

word 

Ellsworth 

cut  in  has  relief  in  glossed  letters  five  inches  long.  Set  into 
the  front  face  of  the  die  is  a  bronze  medallion  of  Col. 
Ellsworth.    The  north  side  of  the  die  bears  the  inscription  : 

Colonel  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth 
Commander  of  the  First  Regiment  of  the  New  York 
Zouaves.  Born  at  Malta,  Saratoga  county,  N.  Y., 
April  11th,  1837.  Killed  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  May 
24th,  1861,  in  taking  the  first  Rebel  Flag  in  the  War 
for  the  Union. 

The  volunteer  Fire  Department  of  New  York   Co- 
operated in  the  erection  of  this  monument. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  die  is  a  slab  of  white  marble  on 
which  is  carved  a  unique  and  beautiful  coat-of-arms,  copied 
from  a  drawing  made  by  Ellsworth,  rifle,  sword,  pistol, 
bayonet,  flag,  banner,  and  all  the  accoutrements  of  war, 
effectively  arranged  underneath  a  shield. 

Over  all  is  a  shield  on  which  appears  the  initials  E.  E. 
E.  Underneath  this  coat-of-arms  is  the  well-known  ex- 
tract from  a  letter  written  to  his  parents  a  little  previous  to 
setting  out  on  the  expedition  on  which  he  met  his  death  : 

I  am  content,*  #  #  #  confident  that  he  who  noteth 
even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  will  have  some  purpose 
even  in  the  fate  of  one  like  me. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  die  is  the  following : 

The  State  of  New  York  United  in  Commemorating 
the  Patriotism  of  Colonel  Ellsworth,  by  contributing 
out  of  the  Public  Funds  to  the  erection  of  this  monu- 
ment. Chapter  760,  Laws  of  1873. 

The  letters  of  the  inscriptions  were  sunk  in  the  granite, 
then  gilded. 

Midway  up  the  octagonal  shaft,  on  the  west  side,  is  carved 


11 

a  beautiful  shield,  and  surmounting  all  stands  a  majestic 
bronze  eagle  with  outstretched  wings. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments of  the  Association : 

Received  from  State  of  New  York,         .             .  $2000.00 

"         "      A.  F.  Ockershausen,            .             .  750.00 

Lewis  E.  Smith,           .             .             .  '          .  28.00 

Raised  by  Subscription,     ....  2213.74 


$1991.74 

Cost  of  Monument,      .             . 

$4141.52 

Paid  for  Music, 

100.00 

Paid   "   use  of  Tent,  . 

100.00 

Paid  for  Foundation, 

28.00 

Expenses  of  the  Dedication  Ceremonies, 

342.62 

Cash  on  hand, 

279.60 

$4991.74 

INAUGURATING  THE  MONUMENT. 

May  27th,  1874,  the  thirteenth  anniversary  of  Col.  Ells- 
worth's funeral  at  Mechanicville  had  been  fixed  upon  by 
the  association  as  the  day  for  inaugurating  the  monument. 

The  orator  and  other  speakers  had  been  selected,  and 
Gov.  Dix  and  staff,  and  numerous  other  civic  and  mili- 
tary bodies  had  been  invited  to  be  present.  As  the  day 
approached  the  most  ample  and  thorough  preparations 
were  made,  various  committees  were  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  different  departments  of  the  work,  as  the  com- 
mittee on  order  of  exercises,  committee  of  reception, 
soliciting  committee,  committee  on  table  arrangements, 
committee  on  lumber,  etc.  The  mammoth  tent  of  the 
Round  Lake  Camp  Meeting  Association  was  procured 
for  the  occasion  and  spread  in  an  open  field  in  the  south 
part  of  the  village  to  be  used  as  a  dining  pavilion.  A  spacious 
stand  for  the  speakers,  the  committee,  the  officers  of  the  day 
and  others,  was  erected  in  the  large  field  adjoining ''the 
cemetery  on  the  west,  and   seats  were  provided   for  ihe 


12 

audience.  The  morning  of  the  appointed  day  opened  beauti- 
fully, light  clouds  veiled  the  face  of  the  sun  and  tempered 
his  more  vertical  rays  in  the  middle  of  the  day  so  that  the 
elements  could  not  possibly  have  been  more  propitious  for 
a  large  gathering  in  the  open  air.  Early  in  the  day  the 
people  from  the  surrounding  country  came  thronging 
to  the  village  in  large  numbers.  The  morning  trains 
brought  great  numbers  from  more  distant  places  and  finally 
immense  special  trains  from  the  cities  of  Albany  and  Troy 
increased  the  assembled  multitudes  to  six  or  eight  tbousand 
people. 

THE  PROCESSION. 

The  procession  was  at  once  formed  at  the  rail  road  station 
under  the  direction  of  Captain  William  E.  Fitch  of  Albany, 
Grand  Marshal.     The  order  of  march  was  as  follows  : 
First  Division. 
Squad  of  Police. 
Albany  City  Grand  Army  Band,  A.  K.  Patten,  baud  master. 
,    Captain  William  E.  Fitch,  Grand  Marshal. 

Assistant  Marshals, 
Hon.  Terence  J.  Quinn,  A.  H.  Spierre,  Frederick  Swin- 
burne and  Charles  Wiles. 

Fifth  [E]   Company,  Tenth  Regiment  Infantry,  National 

Guard,  State  of  New  York,  Ellsworth  Zouave 

Cadets,  Captain  James  McFarlane. 

Veterans  of  the  Forty-Fourth  New  York  State  Volunteer 

Infantry,  People's  Ellsworth  Regiment,  Corporal 

M.  V.  B.  Wagoner,  Commanding. 

Sixth  [F]  Company,  Tenth  Regiment  Infantry  N.  G.  S.  N. 

Y.,  Harris  Guards,  Captain  George  D.  Weid- 

man,  Commanding. 

Post  Lew  Benedict,  No.  5,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 

Robert  H.  McCormic,  Commander. 

Members  of  the  Ellsworth  Monument  Association. 

;0.rator,  Poet  and  guests  of  the  Association. 


13 

Second  Division. 
Sullivan's  Tenth  Eegiment  Band,  J.  H.  B.  Sullivan,  band 

master. 

Albany  Academy  Cadet  Battalion,  three  companies  and 
drum  corps,  Major  Leonard  Paige,  Commanding. 

Third  [C]  Company,  Tenth  Regiment  Infantry,  N.  G.  S.  N. 

Y.,  Osborn  Guards,  Captain  and  Brevet  Major 

Peter  C.  Bain,  Commanding. 

Major  General  Joseph  B.  Carr,  Commanding  Third  Divi- 
sion, National  Guard,  State  of  New  York,  and  staff. 

Brigadier   General   Alonzo  Alden,    Commanding   Tenth 

Brigade  National  Guard,  State  of  New  York, 

and  staff. 

Post  McConihe,  No.   18,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Charles  Newman  Everts,  Commander. 

Post  "Willard,  No.  34,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Joseph 
Egolf,  Commander. 

Veterans  of  the  Seventy-Seventh  Regiment  New  York  State 

Volunteer  Infantry,  Bemis  Heights  Regiment. 
Drum  Corps. 

Independent  Veteran  Zouaves,   Captain  W.  F.  Boshart, 
Commanding. 

Section  of  Battery  A,  Ninth  Brigade,  National  Guard  State 

of  New  York,  two  (2)  pieces,  Captain  John  Pochin 

Commaudino;. 

Upon  the  formation  of  the  line  the  procession  marched 
dowu  Railroad  street  to  Main,  thence  down  Main  to  Elm, 
thence  through  Elm  to  the  rail  road  crossing,  thence  through 
"West  Main,  and  South  streets,  to  the  cemetery,  through 
which  the  procession  moved  to  the  stand.  After  the  proces- 
sion had  reached  the  stand  and  its  different  component  parts 
had  been  assigned  to  their  respective  positions,  the  exercises 
were  opened  by  Prof.  Bernice  D.  Ames,  on  whose  nomina- 
tion Gen.  George  S.  Batch  ell  er,  of  Saratoga  Springs,  was 
chosen  President. 


14 


ORGANIZATION"  COMPLETED. 

At  the  close  of  his  address  the  organization  was  completed 
by  the  choice  of  the  following  Vice  Presidents  and  Secre- 
taries. 

Vice  Presidents  : 

New  York  —  Hon.  John  K.  Porter,  Hon.  John  R,  Fellows, 
Hon.  Gilbert  M.  Spier,  Hon.  Stephen  P.  Nash,  John  F. 
Seymour,  Geo.  A.  Fellows,  Hiram  Ketchem,  Charles  A. 
Davison. 

Albany — Hon.  Deodatus  Wright,  Hon.  John  H.  Rejmolds, 
Hon.  Geo.  H.  Thacher,  George  W.  Luther. 

Ttvy — Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard,  George  H.  Cramer,  Samuel  A. 
House,  Charles  Eddy,  Edgar  L.  Fursman,  Hon.  John 
C.  Greene. 

Waterford  —  ¥ra.  T.  Seymour,  John  C.  House,  Hon. 
Isaac  C.  Ormsby,  Hon.  C.  A.  Waldron,  William  Burton, 
Dr.  Chauncey  Boughton,  Geo.  W.  Eddy,  J.  B.  Enos. 

Halfmoon  —  Hon.  T.  G.  Younglove,  William  Tripp,  John 
Tripp,  James  H.  Prime. 

Malta  —  Col.  C.  T.  Peek,  A.  H.  Hemphill,  James  Tripp. 

MechamcviUe — Abiram  Fellows,  Prof.  BerniceD.  Ames, 
Job  G.  Viall,  Henry  K.  Cornell,  Capt.  Alonzo  Howland,  Jas. 
C.  Rice,  C.  A.  Hemstreet,  Dr.  Wm.  Tibbetts,  Wm.  C. 
Tahnadge,  Dr.  N.  II.  Ballou,  Frank  Pruyn,  Charles 
Wheeler,  J.  F.  Terry,  J.  W.  Ensign,  W.  W.  Smith, 
Wm.  M.  Warner,  T.  P.  Lockwood,  Nelson  Shouts,  George 
Rogers,  Rev.  George  C.  Morehouse. 

Schuylerville — George  Strover,  Daniel  A.  Bullard,  George 
F.  Watson,  Chas.  W.  Mayhew,  Dr.  C.  H.  Payn,  Henry 
Clay  Holmes. 

Stillwater  —  Gilbert  V.  Lansing,  Jared  W.  Haight, 
Stephen  Wood,  George  W.  Neilson,  William  Taylor,  Geo. 
A.  Ensign,  Thcmas  M.  Myers,  Dr.  Chauncy  Bull. 

Saratoga  Spring?  —  Hon.  Augustus  Bockes,  Hon.  John 
C.  Hulburt,  Hon.  H.  H.  Hathorn,  Hon.  Charles  S.  Lester, 


15 

Hon.  James  B.  McKean,  Wrm.  H.  McCaffrey,  James  L. 
Cramer,  Gen.  W.  B.  French,  Col.  W.  M.  Searing,  Capt. 
B.  F.  Judson,  Hon.  James  M.  Marvin,  J.  H.  Breslin. 

Clifton  Park  —  George  Dater,  John  Peck,  "William  May- 
hew,  "William  Mott. 

Rock  City  —  Hon.  Geo.  West,  Clarence  Kilmer. 

Ballston  Spa  —  James  W.  Horton,  Hon.  George  G.  Scott, 
Col.  "W.  T.  Odell,  H.  A.  Mann,  J.  S.  L'Amoreux,  Hiro 
Jones,  J.  B.  Harlow,  Col.  B.  F.  Baker,  Thomas  Noxon. 

Secretaries ; 

New  York —  Col.  John  Hay,  Albert  Yernam,  Joel  Sey- 
mour. 

Albany — Harvey  A.  Dwight,  Dr.  Henry  R.  Haskins,  Nor- 
man Seymour. 

Troy  —  John  M.  House. 

Waterford — Col.  S.  P.  Smith,  D.  M.  Yanhovenburgh. 

Mechanieville  —  Lewis  Howlancl,  David  S.  Baker,  Henry 
H.  Ross,  Thomas  Terry,  George  Lockwood,  C.  H.  Betts,  C. 
M.  Fort,  Joshua  Anthony,  Stephen  Lee,  E.  B.  Lockwood. 

Malta  —  Henry  Yanhyning,  G.  E.  Denton. 

Stillwater  —  Daniel  Ellsworth,  Dr.  Frank  Thomas,  Edgar 
Holmes,  Gilbert  P.  Rowley,  D.  B.  Holmes. 

Ballston  Spa  —  Hon.  Neil  Gilmour,  C.  E.  Fitcham. 

Half  moon  —  Henry  Clark,  J.  H.  Clark. 

Clifton  Park  —  Rev.  John  Campbell,  P.  S.  Jones. 


EXERCISES  AT  THE  STAND. 

The  exercises  at  the  stand  continued  to  the  close  accord- 
ing to  the  following  programme,  copies  of  which  were 
generally  distributed  among  the  audience. 

Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard  had  also  been  expected  to  speak,  but 
was  unable  to  be  present.  He  however  furnished  the  com- 
mittee with  a  copy  of  the  remarks  that  he  would  have  de- 
livered, if  he  had  been  present.    They  will  be  found  in  this 


16 

memorial  volume.  Gen.  Egbert  L.  Yiele  of  New  York 
had  been  invited  to  give  an  address  on  the  occasion,  but 
was  unable  to  be  present  on  account  of  illness. 

Order  or  Exercises. 

1.  Appointment  and  Address  of  the  Presiding  Officer, 

Hon.   George  S.  Batcheller,  of  Saratoga  Springs, 
K  Y. 

2.  Naming  of  Vice  Presidents  and  Secretaries. 

3.  Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  Charles  D.  Flagler. 

4.  Music  —  "American  Hymn,"  M.  Keller. 

5.  Unveiling  of  the  Monument  —  Military  Salute,  Ar- 

tillery and  Band. 

6.  Life  Sketch  of  Col.  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth,  by  Edward  L. 

Cole,  Esq.,  of  Troy,  K  Y. 

7.  Music  —  "Memorial  Overture,"  J.  H.  B.  Sullivan. 

8.  Oration,  by  Hon.  Julius  C.  Burrows,  M.  C,  of  Michigan. 

9.  March  — "The  Soldier's  Farewell,"  E.  Hare. 

10.  Poem,  by  William  H.  McElroy  of  Albany,  K  Y. 

11.  Address,  by  Lt.  Francis  E.  Brownell,  U.  S.  A.,  Ells- 

worth's Avenger. 

12.  Music  —  Descriptive  Fantasia — "  Recollections  of  the 

Siege  of  Petersburgh,"  J.  H.  B.  Sullivan. 

13.  Benediction,  Rev.  Charles  D.  Flagler. 

At  that  point  in  the  exercises  after  the  band  had  played 
the  "  American  Hymn,"  the  ceremony  of  unveiling  the 
monument  took  place.  While  the  artillery  and  band 
joined  in  a  grand  military  salute,  a  committee  advanced 
from  the  stand  to  the  Ellsworth  lot  and  touched  a  spring 
which  threw  off  the  covering  in  a  moment,  and  displayed 
the  imposing  granite  shaft  to  the  eyes  of  the  multitude.  It 
was  a  moment  of  thrilling  and  peculiar  interest  and  one 
not  soon  to  be  forgotten  by  the  assembled  thousands. 

At  the  close  of  the  exercises  at  the  stand  the  procession 
reformed  and  marched  to  the  mammoth  dining  pavilion, 
where  the  military  and  other  invited  guests  were  provided 


17 

with  a  bountiful  repast,  abundant  provision  for  which  had 
been  contributed  by  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country 
and  provided  by  the  committee. 

All  the  varied  exercises  of  the  day  passed  off  successfully 
and  to  the  great  apparent  satisfaction  of  the  people. 

Xotan  untoward  incident  occurred  to  mar  the  complete- 
ness of  the  demonstration.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  pride 
and  of  hisrh  stratification  to  the  members  of  the  association 
that  they  were  permitted  to  see  their  labors,  which  had 
been  prosecuted  through  many  months,  crowned  with  such 
grand  and  triumphant  success. 

And  now  in  the  publication  of  this  memorial  volume  the 
association  close  their  labors  which  have  been  voluntary, 
sometimes  arduous  and  self-sacrificing,  and  wholly  unre- 
quited, except  by  the  satisfaction  which  they  feel  as  they 
now  resign  the  trust  which  was  originally  reposed  in  them 
by  the  partiality  of  their  fellow  citizens,  in  the  consciousness 
that  they  had  been  instrumental  in  discharging  an  obliga- 
tion sacredly  due  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious  dead  and 
in  doing  what  they  could  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  a 
career  which  shall  be  to  the  living  a  memory  and  an  in- 
spiration. 

"  On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

His  silent  tent  is  spread, 
While  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 
With  all  their  country's  honors  blest." 


OPEXIXG  ADDRESS. 

Hon.  George  S.  Batcheller  then  spoke  as  follows  : 
Mr.  Chairman  and  Fellow  Citizens,  I   esteem  it  a  high 
honor  to  be  permitted  to  participate  in  the  patriotic  solem- 
nities of  this  day.     We   are   assembled  to  pay  a   fitting 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  whose  course  was  brief, 


18 

brilliant  and  immortal.  Here,  within  sound  reach  of  the 
cannon  whose  echoing  thunders  marked  the  progress  of 
the  great  battle  nearly  a  century  ago,  which  in  my  estimation, 
decided  the  natal  day  of  the  Republic,  we  come  to  raise  the 
memorial  column  to  the  young  hero  who  was  the  first  of 
his  rank  to  lay  down  his  life  to  preserve  and  perpetuate 
that  country  which  our  revered  fathers  then  won  upon  the 
plains  of  Saratoga. 

There  are  events  in  the  course  of  ever}7  nation  which 
mark  epochs  in  its  history.  They  stand  forth  like  the 
grand  mountain  ranges  and  lakes  of  our  own  dear  land,  to 
command  the  attention  and  admiration  of  the  world. 

They  attach  their  associations  to  the  mind  and  heart  of 
the  whole  people  so  that  they  are  no  longer  the  exclusive 
legends  of  a  locality,  but  are  the  household  treasure  of  the 
entire  land.  Such  are  the  deeds,  such  the  memory  of  Elmer 
E.  Ellsworth.  We  are  upon  historic  ground.  Let  the  me- 
mories of  the  Revolution  descend  to  inspire  the  thoughts  of 
this  hour.  Let  the  country  for  which  his  life  was  given  be 
the  cherished  idol  of  every  home.  Let  the  action  of  our 
civil  life  be  so  moulded  that  it  will  become  but  a  continued 
pulsation  of  those  noble  hearts  which  ceased  to  throb  upon 
the  glorious  fields  of  our  country.  Let  the  commonwealth 
be  upheld  with  purity  and  integrity.  Let  the  sentiment  of 
virtue  in  public  affairs  become  so  thoroughly  infused  and 
firmly  established  that  it  will  henceforth  be  as  honorable 
to  serve  the  State  in  civic  spheres  as  it  ever  has  been  upon 
the  field  of  battle.  When  public  men  shall  become  promi- 
nent exemplars  of  a  chivalric  rectitude  in  all  affairs,  when 
rising  generations  shall  aspire  to  emulate  their  record  and 
all  shall  feel  assured  that  in  their  control  the  Government 
will  illustrate  in  reality  what  the  fathers  ordained,  a  Republic 
with  perfect  principles  administered  by  faithful  and  honest 
men,  then  shall  Ellsworth  and  his  brave  compatriots  not 
have  died  in  vain.  Let  us  then  consecrate  this  monument 
to  the  gallant  dead,  and  commemorate  the  cause  of  him 
who  now  slumbers  at  its  base,  by  dedicating  here  an  altar 


19 

upon   which   the   fires   of  patriotism   and   public    virtue 
shall  glow  and  brighten  even  unto  the  perfect  day. 

Thanking  you,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  for  selecting 
me  to  preside  on  this  occasion,  I  will  proceed  with  the 
order  of  exercises  which  you  have  established. 


PRAYER. 

Prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.   Charles  D.  Flagler. 
Let  us  unite  in  Prayer. 

Almighty  God,  our  Heavenly  Father,  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords,  Thou  that  guidest  the  planets  in  their  course 
and  the  seraph  in  his  path,  Thou  whose  empire  is  so  vast 
and  who  art  being  worshipped  by  myriads  upon  myriads 
around  Thy  throne,  and  by  Thy  Church  universal  upon 
earth,  we  rejoice  that  Thine  ear  is  always  open  to  the 
supplications  of  even  Thy  most  obscure  creatures.  We 
desire  to  come  into  Thy  presence  reverentially  because  of 
Thy  greatness  and  holiness  ;  humbly  because  of  our  weak- 
ness and  sinfulness,  and  gratefully  that  we  are  here  so  richly 
laden  with  the  experience  of  Thy  loving  kindness  and 
Tny  tender  mercies.  Oh  Thou  that  rulest  among  the 
armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  we 
assemble  here  to  day,  not  as  partizans,  not  as  adversaries, 
but  with  arms  reversed  we  come  into  Thy  presence  as 
citizens  and  as  representatives  of  this  great  republic;  to 
specially  return  thanks  to  Thee,  oh  Thou  King  of  kings, 
for  all  the  steps  by  which  Thou  hast  advanced  us  to  the 
position  of  an  independent  nation.  When  the  dark 
clouds  of  war  were  hovering  over  us,  threatening  to  destroy 
us  from  among  the  nations,  Thine  invisible  hand  hast 
guided  us  ;  Thon  didst  impart  wisdom  to  the  court,  dis- 
cretion to  the  cabinet  and  valor  to  the  camp.  We  thank 
Thee  that  Thou  didst  lead  our  armies  in  the  heat  of  battle 
and  that  with  Thy  breath  Thou  didst  banish  the  clouds 
from  our  political  sky  and  restored  peace  to  our  borders, 
and  that  as  again  we  lift  up  our  hearts  in  thankfulness  to 


20 

Thee  and  place  upon  Thy  altar  our  tribute  of  gratitude,  we 
can  say  with  Thy  servant,  Thou  hast  not  dealt  thus  with 
any  other  nation.  Oh  Thou  that  makest  wars  to  cease  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  accept  our  thanks  and  while  we  are 
assembled  here  on  this  soil,  consecrated  by  our  many 
prayers  and  tears  and  by  the  ashes  of  our  loved  ones,  oh 
do  Thou  guide  us ;  do  Thou  preside  over  us  in  all  these 
deliberations.  Our  Heavenly  Father  look  Thou  in  mercy 
upon  us,  and  grant  that  from  these  mounds  and  monuments, 
we  may  be  taught  important  lessons  of  wisdom ;  from  the 
graves  of  those  who  have  died  in  the  peaceful  pursuits  of 
life,  may  we  learn  the  evanescence  of  all  temporary  things, 
and  from  the  graves  of  those  who  have  lingered  away  their 
lives  in  the  hospital  or  fallen  upon  the  field  of  battle,  may 
we  also  realize  that  the  greatest  pageantry  of  life  will  soon 
pass  and  the  hero's  triumph  be  silent  in  the  grave.  Merci- 
ful Heavenly  Father,  as  we  are  assembled  here  to-day  to 
give  expression  to  our  regard,  to  our  esteem,  to  our  love 
for  the  gallant  soldier  who  fell  in  the  early  dawn  of  our 
national  struggle,  as  we  give  such  expression  by  the  boom- 
ing of  cannon,  by  the  inspiration  of  music,  by  the  voice  of 
eloquence,  oh,  may  we  here  recognize  the  same  guiding 
hand  that  courageous  officer  recognized  and  feel  that  in 
his  fall  Thou  didst  have  some  purpose.  While  we  learn 
here  the  lessons  of  his  early  life  and  the  secret  of  his  success 
as  a  soldier,  may  we  realize  that  all  that  is  valuable  in  our 
civil  and  religious  institutions  must  be  based  upon  honor 
and  upon  intelligence.  And  now,  Father  in  Heaven,  Thou 
who  lookest  upon  the  nations  of  the  earth  even  as  a  drop  in 
the  bucket,  as  the  small  dust  in  the  balance,  Thou  that  weigh- 
est  the  mountains  in  scales  and  the  hills  in  a  balance,  watch 
Thou  over  us  as  a  nation,  protect  us  from  all  foes,  whether 
domestic  or  foreign,  and  we  pray  that  this  star  in  the  west 
may  never  go  down.  May  this  our  nation  be  united  long 
years  to  come  and  ever  remain  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed 
of  all  nations.  Omnipresent  One,  as  we  stand  by  the 
grave  of  the  gallant  colonel,  to  whose  memory  we  are  here 


21 

to-day  to  pay  our  tribute  of  respect  and  love ;  as  we  and 
future  generations  stand  by  tbat  grave  where  friendship 
will  weep,  where  affection  will  mourn,  and  where  pity  will 
mingle  with  grief,  oh  may  this  monumental  stone  pointing 
to  the  skies  lead  our  thoughts  to  the  celestial  temple,  where 
we  trust  he  whose  memory  we  honor  is  with  the  great  army 
of  the  Lord,  where  conflicts  are  unknown  and  where  he 
wears  a  crown  of  glory.  Oh  Thou  Divine  Commander, 
hear  Thou  us,  in  this  our  petition,  not  for  any  worthiness 
of  ours,  but  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Redeemer, 
and  to  the  King  eternal,  immortal  and  invisible,  we  will 
ascribe  all  honor  and  glory,  now  and  forever. —  Amen. 


MUSIC. 
"American  Hymn,"  M.  Keller. 

UNVEILING  THE  MONUMENT. 

The  monument  was  here  unveiled  with  a  military  salute 
by  artillery  and  band. 

LIFE  SKETCH. 

Mr.  Edward  L.  Cole,  of  Troy,  next  spoke  as  follows  : 
The  duty  of  mine  this  hour  and  the  honor  is  to  sketch 
briefly  the  life  of  him  who  is  resting  yonder  beneath  that 
granite  shaft,  glistening  in  the  sunshine  of  this  May  clay, 
to  tell  the  plain,  unadorned  story  of  his  early  life,  his  few 
years  of  manhood  and  his  sad  death. 

A  few  miles  away  to  the  west  and  northward,  in  the 
little  village  of  Malta,  on  the  11th  day  of  April,  1837, 
Ephraim  Elmer  Ellsworth  was  born.  The  air  he  first  drew 
in  came  to  him  after  sweeping  over  the  plains  made  historic 
by  the  success  of  the  patriot  arms,  and  the  first  tales  that 
were  told  him,  after  the  nursery  rhymes,  were  those  that 


22 

taught  him  how,  in  the  years  gone  by  upon  the  fields  of  his 
native  country,  one  of  the  decisive  battles  of  the  war  for 
independence  was  fought.  As  year  after  year  of  his  life 
rolled  away  the  seed  that  had  been  sown  by  the  story  of 
the  revolutionary  sires  upon  Bemis  Heights  germinated 
and  grew  apace  until,  in  after  years,  it  came  to  blossom  and 
to  fruit.  At  his  mother's  knee  he  was  taught  the  rudi- 
ments of  education  and,  mingled  with  the  story  of  his  letters, 
that  kind  mother  told  him  the  story  of  the  cross.  Through 
all  his  life  there  ran  the  strong  current  of  belief  in  prayer. 
He  did  not  wear  his  belief  openly  upon  his  sleeve,  but  under 
all  his  actions,  in  the  silence  of  his  closet,  in  his  letters  to  his 
mother  there  was  ever  breathed  a  firm  belief  in  the  Chris- 
tianity of  this  day  and  in  the  divine  Providence  that  over- 
shadoweth  all  things. 

At  the  district  school -house  that  still  stands  over  in 
yonder  village,  Ellsworth  first  knew  the  rule  of  the  school 
and  mingled  with  school-fellows.  A  favorite  with  his 
master,  loved  by  his  school-mates,  quick  to  learn,  apt  of 
memory,  young  as  he  was,  he  had  a  love  of  such  books  as  told 
of  wars  and  the  lives  and  deeds  of  men,  great  in  arms.  His 
school-life  has  but  little  of  interest  beyond  a  proud,  sensi- 
tive, affectionate  lad,  hampered  by  circumstances,  a  mind 
reaching  beyond  his  years,  an  ambition  going  out  beyond 
the  life  of  a  village  lad,  a  soul  flashing  out  at  times,  to  the 
close  observer  a  prophecy  of  a  future  that  should  be  stored 
with  events,  great  either  in  good  or  evil  for  him ;  a  dutiful 
son,  a  leader  in  boyhood  sports,  a  thinker  beyond  his  years, 
yet  not  remarkable.     Such  is  the  story  of  his  life  as  a  lad. 

In  1851  he  entered  the  store  of  Mr.  DegrofF in  this  yonder 
village,  such  a  store  as  you  find  in  all  villages.  A  year 
here  learning  the  ways  of  life  and  men,  then  to  the  city  of 
Troy,  where  his  entrance  into  the  busy  world  began  ;  away 
from  his  home,  from  his  mother,  from  the  scenes  of  his 
youth,  a  venturer  with  a  frail  bark  upon  the  sea  of  life,  his 
only  chart,  a  school  education  and  the  precepts  of  kind 
parents.     At  Troy  he  first  felt  the  rough   contact   of  the 


23 

struggle  for  wealth  and  bread.     A   year   there,  then   his 
footsteps  turned  toward  the  metropolis  of  the  nation,  think- 
ing, as  he  said  to  his  father  in  his  request  to  he  allowed  to 
go  :  "  That  faithful,  honest  clerks  were  always  wanted  there  : 
that  one  who  knew  his  duty  and  would  do  it,  could  not  fail 
to  succeed."     The  year  he  remained  in  Xew  York  was  an 
eventful  one  for  him.     It  was  the  year  in  which  the   seeds 
sown  by  the  story  of  the  victory  of  Gates  at  Saratoga,  nur- 
tured by  the  tales  of  the   heroes  of  the  war,  that   he   had 
conned  so  often,  began  to  show  the  inner  life  that   had  so 
long  lain  dormant  in  him.     He  attended  every  drill  of  the 
Seventh  Regiment  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to   do,  read 
books  of  tactics,  and  first  felt  the  breaking  of  the  light  of 
those   ideas  of  his,  regarding   military    organization,  that 
afterwards  came  to  such  splendid  fruition.     From  1855  to 
1859,  there  is  but  little  item  of  interest  to  the  world  at  large, 
in  the  life  of  our  hero.     It  was  a  struggle  for  place,  for  posi- 
tion in  the  mercantile    world.     Baffled   by   hard  and    un- 
toward circumstances,  but  through  all  and  in  all,  his  leading 
idea  still   grew   apace.     He   perfected   himself  in  all    the 
accomplishments  of  a  soldier.     He  was,  of  the  strictest  type, 
a  self-denialist.     Everything  that  tended  toward  the  perfect 
soldier,  in  thought,  study  or  deed,  was  his.     He  became  a 
master  of  the  several  systems  of  tactics,  of  the  use  of  the  bay- 
onet and  under  the  tuition  of  De  Villers,  an  accomplished 
swordsman.     During  the  latter  part  of  this  period  he  was  the 
drill  master  of  the  Governor's  Guard  of  Wisconsin,  educat- 
ing it  to  the  standard  of  the  finest  military  body  in  the  great 
West.     It  was  during  this  period,  that  Ellsworth  made  the 
effort  to  enter  the  ranks  of  the  students  of  law.     He  applied 
by  letter  to  one  of  the  most  able   lawyers  of  Chicago.     His 
application    was   unsuccessful,  but  the   tone  of  his  letter 
making    the    application,    shows     the     determined    iron 
spirit  of  the  man.     In   it  he    said:  "I  am    determined  to 
study  law,  and  succeed  if  I  have    to   borrow   a   copy   of 
Blackstone  and  study  in  the  Court  House    cupola.     But  I 
want  to  start  right  and  rather  than  not  do  so,  would  enter 


24 

your  office  in  any  capacity,  "build  fires,  if  nothing  else  is  to 
be  done,  and  trust  to  time  to  work  my  way  to  the  position 
I  desire."  For  some  reason  his  request  was  not  granted, 
but  his  idea  of  being  a  law  student  was  not   abandoned. 

Having  made  up  his  mind  to  pursue  a  given  direction  of 
life,  his  iron  will  did  not  change  at  the  least  breath  of  ad- 
verse fortune.    He  became  a  student  of  law,  a  hard  reader 
and  diligent  worker  at  the  dusty  and  dry  sections  of  Kent, 
Blackstone  and  Story,  supporting  himself  in  the  meantime 
by  copying  legal  papers.    This  year  was  his  hardest  struggle 
for  life.     He  had  no  pleasures  :  he  knew  but  few  friends. 
The  secret  of  how  he  Lived  was  known  only  to  himself  and 
the  baker  from  whom  he  daily  purchased  his  loaf  of  bread. 
During  this  period  he  never  slept  in  a  bed  or  never  sat  at 
the  social  board  of  a  friend.     His  proud  spirit  would  not 
accept  an  invitation  to  dine  when  he  knew  he  had  not  the 
power  to  repay  it.     His  constitution,  never  enfeebled  by 
excesses,  enabled  him  to  endure  privations  that  ordinary 
men  would  have  fallen  under.     He  knew  no  wrong.     His 
faith  in  the  future  was  great;  his  abstinence  gave  his  brain 
the  bright  look  into  the  future  that  comes  from  frugality, 
a  clear  mind  and  heart.    He  was  at  once  a  dreamer  of  prac- 
tical day  dreams  and  an  active  worker.    He  believed,  urged 
and  argued  the  greatness  of  the  future  of  Mexico  when  an- 
nexed to  the  United  States :  he  believed  that  with  her 
wealth  of  minerals,  her  climate,  her  geographical  position 
she  might  become  the  great  state  of  the  union.     This  was 
no  chimerical  idea  but  one  founded  upon  the  immense  re- 
sources of  the  country.     He  would  erect  upon  the  fallen 
empire  of  the  Montezumas,  by  and  through  the  industry  and 
labors  of  the  Anglo  Saxon  race,  a  state  that  should  have 
no  peer,  wrested  by  toil  from  the  hand  of  semi-barbarism. 
But  the  great,  the  controlling  idea  of  Ellsworth's  life  was 
that  which  he  evolved  from   his  mind,   in  early  boyhood,, 
that  the  years  and  study  had  perfected.    This  was,  to  form 
in  each  state  skeletons,  as  it  were,  of  regiments,  each  having 
its  full  complement  of  thoroughly  drilled  officers  always 


25 

ready :  a  framework  always  ready  at  a  few  days'  warning 
to  be  filled  into  a  perfect  regiment.  His  mind  with  a  pro- 
phetic intuition  seemed  warned  that  the  years  would  not 
be  many  ere  a  regiment,  well  officered  and  manned,  speedily 
to  be  placed  in  the  field  would  be  worth  a  division  three 
months  later.  It  is  thus  those  who  are  the  leaders  of  great 
innovations,  stand,  as  it  were,  upon  the  hill  tops  and  first 
catch  the  light  of  the  coming  day,  while  the  majority  of 
the  world  in  the  valleys  below  still  grope  in  the  dark.  Had 
the  years  of  1859  and  1860  seen  his  idea  perfected,  the  war 
that  was  a  struggle  of  over  four  years  would  have  been  a 
war  of  three  months,  but  he  was  in  advance  of  the  age,  he 
was  a  prophet  with  but  few  followers.  Yet  the  world  to- 
day pays  the  tardy  compliment  to  his  genius,  by  acknow- 
ledging the  truth  of  his  theories  and  yet  so  acknowledging, 
like  the  world,  does  not  avail  itself  of  their  worth  by  fol 
lowing  them.  At  this  time  he  was  the  picture  of  a  soldier. 
His  form  though  slight  was  of  the  size  of  the  elder  Napo- 
leon, the  head,  poised  like  that  of  a  statue,  covered  by 
curling  black  hair,  dark  eyes,  bright  and  serene,  a  nose 
like  that  you  see  on  Roman  medals,  a  light  moustache  just 
shading  the  lips  that  were  continually  curving  into  sunny 
smiles.  His  voice  deep  but  musical,  his  address  soldierly, 
sincere  and  courteous,  his  dress  tasty  and  faultless,  the 
fascination  to  gather  friends  and  keep  them,  a  cavalier  of 
the  days  of  romance,  stainless,  loyal  and  brave.  Bayard 
himself  would  have  been  proud  of  him,  his  duty  and  the 
principles  of  his  life,  his  gage  of  conduct,  like  the  knights 
of  the  Round  Table  : 

"  To  reverence  the  king  as  if  he  were 
Their  conscience,  and  their  conscience  as  their  king, 
To  break  the  heathen  and  support  the  Christ, 
To  ride  abroad  redressing  human  wrongs 
To  speak  no  slander,  no,  nor  listen  to  it, 
To  lead  sweet  lives  in  purest  chastity, 
To  love  one  maiden  only,  cleave  to  her, 
And  worship  her  by  years  of  noble  deeds, 
Until  they  won  her  :  " 
4 


26 

For  the  rest, 

*  *  "  high  thoughts  and  atuiahle  words 
And  courtliness,  and  the  desire  of  fame, 
And  love  of  truth  and  all  that  makes  a  man." 

Such  a  man  was  Ephraim  Elmer  Ellsworth  when  he,  on 
the  4th  day  of  May,  1859,  organized  the  United  States 
Zouave  Cadets  of  Chicago,  the  organization  that  first  gave 
his  name  to  the  world.  Disregarding  the  old  rules  for  the 
school  of  the  soldier,  he  boldly  struck  out  into  a  new  system 
entirely  at  variance  with  all  thoughts  upon  military,  taught 
them  by  new  methods  to  the  perfection  of  soldierly  conduct, 
taught  them  to  be  abstemious  and  enforced  by  rigid  discipline 
such  teaching.  Through  his  efforts  the  directors  of  the 
United  States  Agricultural  Society  offered  a  setof  magnifi- 
cent colors  to  the  best  drilled  company  in  the  nation.  Ells- 
worth's command  received  them  and  soon  after  started  on 
their  march  through  the  principal  cities  of  the  union.  It  was 
one  of  triumph  and  good  nature,  conceding  to  his  command 
the  palm  of  superiority.  Xew  York,  the  acknowledged 
champion  of  halt  a  century  in  the  perfection  of  her  citizen 
soldiery,  was  forced  to  confess  that  out  of  the  West  had  come 
soldiers  before  whom  her  pride — the  Seventh  —  was  as  a 
raw  recruit.  Everywhere  the  command  was  praised  and 
admired  and  Ellsworth  was,  for  the  hour,  the  most  talked 
of  man  in  the  country.  Thus  far  had  he  advanced.  He 
had  demonstrated  to  the  rigid  martinets  of  the  old  school 
the  efficacy  of  his  drill.  He  had  gained  a  hold  upon  the 
respect  and  admiration  of  the  people  that  would  command 
him  attention.  After  his  return  to  Chicago,  still  intent 
upon  carrying  out  his  great  idea  of  skeleton  and  speedy 
mobilzation  of  militia  regiments,  he  went  to  Springfield. 
He  believed  in  the  success  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  he  hoped  in 
such  event  to  secure  his  help  in  carrying  out  the  great  idea 
of  his  life,  the  founding  of  a  National  Militia  Bureau,  such 
bureau  to  have  all  possible  information  and  control  of  the 
militia  ;    the    distribution    of  information    reo-;irdinrr   the 


27 

militia ;  a  system  of  instruction  for  the  militia ;  the  uniform 
organization  and  equipment  of  State  troops.  Lincoln,  quick 
to  read  men  and  know  their  place,  took  him  as  a  student 
in  his  law  office,  and  there  was  begun  that  friendship  between 
he  who  was  to  be  the  saviour  of  a  nation  and  the  soldier 
whose  memory  this  day  we  honor.  During  the  months  of 
Ellsworth's  study  he  perfected  and  further  amplified  the 
military  passion  of  his  life.  He  also  made,  during  the 
presidential  campaign  of  that  year  many  earnest  and  elo- 
quent speeches  for  his  party  reminding  all  who  heard  him 
of  the  early  and  palmy  days  of  the  Douglas. 

To  the  legislature  of  Illinois  that  winter  he  submitted  a 
bill  embodying  his  ideas  of  militia  reform,  but  no  progress 
was  made  with  it  before  them.  At  the  invitation  of  the 
president  elect  he  went  with  him  as  one  of  his  escort  to 
Washington.  Now,  with  the  chief  executive  of  the  nation 
as  his  friend  and  adviser,  all  seemed  bright  and  fair  in  life 
before  him.  Ellsworth  wished  a  position  in  the  War 
Department  that  should  give  him  the  opportunity  to  become 
the  head  of  a  bureau  that  should  effect  the  reforms  he 
wished,  but  the  jealousy  of  the  officers  of  the  regular  army, 
who  are  and  always  were  fosilized  against  any  scheme  of 
reform  regulating  the  militia,  threw  so  many  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  the  young  hero  that  his  task  seemed  almost  hope- 
less, and  yet  not  altogether  so,  for  from  documents  which 
I  have  seen  I  am  led  to  believe  that  it  was  already  decided 
upon  that  such  a  bureau  should  be  formed,  and  he  assigned 
to  the  head  of  it,  with  the  rank  of  brevet  lieutenant 
colonel.  At  about  this  time,  he  was  commissioned  second 
lieutenant  in  the  regular  array.  While  these  plans  were 
going  forward  Ellsworth  fell  sick.  While  lying  ill,  the 
storm  clouds  of  war  gathered  dark  and  the  south  winds 
bore  northward  the  rumors  of  the  coming  strife.  The  fall 
of  Sumter  roused  him  to  health  and  strength ;  the  young  - 
hero  could  not  be  idle  or  sick  at  such  a  time.  In  his  own 
words,  he  "  felt  that  he  had  a  great  work  to  do,  to  which  his 
life  was  pledged  ;  yet  he  could  ask  no  better  death  than  to 


28 

fall  before  the  walls  of  Sumter."  Scarce  had  the  echo  of 
the  first  gun  fired  against  the  flag  on  Sumter's  walls  died 
away,  than  he  was  en  route  for  New  York,  proceeding 
thither  without  orders,  without  assistance  or  authority,  the 
fixed  purpose  in  his  mind  that  his  own  native  State  should 
have  the  first  regularly  organized  volunteer  regiment  at 
the  capital  of  the  nation. 

On  his  way  he  made  up  his  mind  that  from  the  ranks  of 
the  New  York  firemen,  men  used  to  danger,  duty  and  obe- 
dience, he  would  recruit  his  ranks.  In  a  few  days  his  regi- 
ment, the  First  New  York  Zouaves,  were  en  route  for 
Washington,  and  were  on  the  7th  day  of  May  at  "Washington, 
mustered  into  service.  It  is  a  strange,  proud  circumstance 
of  this  regiment,  and  more  proud  still  for  its  young  com- 
mander, that  while  other  regiments  were  being  mustered 
for  thirty  days,  sixty  days,  three  months  and  two  years,  his 
was  the  only  regiment  which  was  mustered  in  for  the 
war.  Others  might  be  content  to  do  sixty  days'  fighting, 
but  the  young  hero,  only  twenty-four  years  old,  was  deter- 
mined that,  though  the  war  should  bo  long  or  short,  he  and 
his  regiment  would  be  in  at  the  beginning  and  stay  in  until 
the  death.  This  marks  again  the  determination  and  iron 
will  of  Ellsworth. 

Through  his  grace  in  winning  men  to  him,  through  his 
capacity  to  command,  this  regiment,  composed  for  the  most 
part  of  men  from  the  rougher  walks  of  life,  feared  and 
obeyed  his  slightest  wish,  while  they  loved  him  as  a  brother. 
After  a  few  days  of  drill  and  of.  discipline,  on  the  23d 
of  May,  through  the  efforts  of  Colonel  Ellsworth, they  were 
ordered  to  cross  into  Virginia  and  cooperate  in  the  attack 
on  Alexandria.  They  were  to  march  on  the  morrow. 
Late  in  the  night  he  sought  his  tent,  where  in  the  hours 
that  preceded  the  march  he  busied  himself  with  the  detail 
of  regimental  arrangements  for  the  morrow.  In  these 
hours  his  heart  went  out  to  his  loved  ones,  to  her  whom 
his  heart  held  so  dearly,  to  his  father  and  mother,  and  as  if 
even  then  he  felt  the  shadow  of  the  fate  that  was  for  him 


29 

on  the  morrow,  he  wrote  to  his  parents  :  "  I  am  perfectly 
content  to  accept  whatever  ray  fortune  may  be,  confident 
that  He  who  noteth  even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow  will  have 
some  purpose  in  the  fate  of  one  like  me.  *  *  *  God  bless, 
protect  and  care  for  you." 

At  early  morn  the  regiment  reached  Alexandria.  In 
the  light  winds  of  the  sunny  May  morning  from  a  house 
top,  whose  walls  had  sheltered  Washington,  floated  a  rebel 
flag,  flaunting  its  treason.  To  allow  his  regiment  to  see  it 
would  result  in  the  demolition  of  the  house.  To  save 
bloodshed,  to  avert  a  calamity,  the  brave  colonel  with  a 
file  of  men  ascended  to  remove  the  obnoxious  rag.  In  a  few 
moments  he  had  hold  ot  the  halyards,  the  flag  was  lowered. 
Descending  the  stairs  with  the  baleful  colors  in  his  arms,  he 
was  met  by  the  owner  of  the  house,  a  blinding  flash,  a 
sudden  report  from  a  rebel  musket,  followed  instantly  by 
a  flash  from  a  Union  gun,  a  thud  of  northern  steel,  and  the 
souls  of  the  patriot  and  the  assassin  passed  back  to  their 
Maker.  The  one  dying  in  defense  of  the  principles  of  human 
freedom,  his  country  and  its  laws,  a  martyr.  The  other,  dying 
the  death  of  a  traitor,  his  name  given  an  infamous  noto- 
riety by  the  cowardly  assassin  act,  that  brought  its  retribution 
in  his  instant  death.  Ellsworth  had  fallen  in  the  line  of 
duty ;  for  him  the  reconnoisance  of  life  had  ended,  the 
bugle  had  sounded  the  recall,  and  his  spirit  returned  to  its 
Maker.  The  beloved  of  all  who  knew  him,  the  typical 
type  of  the  northern  soldier,  true,  generous,  loyal  and  brave 
his  death  was  the  call  for  a  hundred  thousand  men  to  spring- 
to  arms.  Sad  though  it  was,  it  may  have  been  the  necessary 
instrument  through  which  a  nation  woke  to  the  realization 
that  the  war  was  one  of  reality.  Years  have  not  dimmed 
the  glory  of  his  name  nor  shadowed  the  sad  lustre  of  his 
fate.  To-day  the  men-at-arms  of  the  republic  claim  his 
memory  as  their  heritage.  His  history  is  a  page  of  the 
archives  of  our  Republic.  His  grave  shall  be  the  shrine 
to  which  the  lovers  of  liberty  shall  turn  to  mourn  a  herd 
who  fell  in  their  cause.     "Words  can  pay  no  prouder  tri- 


so 

bute  than  these  from  the  pen  of  the  now  sainted   Lincoln, 
written  to  the  father  and  mother  of  our  hero  : 

"  In  the  untimely  loss  of  your  noble  son,  our  affliction  here 
is  scarcely  less  than  your  own.  So  much  of  promised  use- 
fulness to  one's  country,  and  of  bright  hopes  for  one's  self 
and  friends,  have  rarely  been  so  suddenly  darkened,  as  in 
his  fall.  In  size,  in  years  and  in  youthful  appearance  a 
boy  only,  his  power  to  command  men  was  surprisingly 
great.  This  power,  combined  with  a  fine  intellect  and  in- 
domitable energy,  and  a  taste  altogether  military,  constituted 
in  him,  as  seemed  to  me,  the  best  natural  talent  in  that  de- 
partment I  ever  knew.  And  yet  he  was  singularly  modest 
and  deferential  in  social  intercourse.  My  acquaintance 
with  him  began  less  than  two  years  ago,  yet  through  the 
latter  half  of  the  intervening  period  it  was  as  intimate  as 
the  disparity  of  our  ages  and  my  engrossing  engagements 
would  permit.  To  me  he  appeared  to  have  no  indulgences 
in  pastimes,  and  I  never  heard  him  utter  a  profane  or  an 
intemperate  word.  What  was  conclusive  of  his  good 
heart,  h.e  never  forgot  his  parents.  The  honors  he  labored 
for  so  laudably,  and,  in  the  sad  end,  so  gallantly  gave  his  life, 
he  meant  for  them  no  less  than  for  himself. 

In  the  hope  that  it  maybe  no  intrusion  upon  the  sacred- 
ness  of  your  sorrow,  I  have  ventured  to  address  this  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  my  young  friend,  and  your  brave  and 
early  fallen  child.  May  God  give  you  the  consolation  which 
is  beyond  all  earthly  power. 

Sincerely  your  friend  in  a  common  affliction, 

A.  Lincoln. 


MUSIC. 

"  Memorial  Overture.' 


31 


ORATION. 

Hon.  Julius  C.  Burroays,  M.  C.  of  Michigan,  then  de- 
livered the  following  oration : 

Fellow  Citizens  :  Thirteen  years  ago  to  day,  and  almost 
at  this  very  hour,  followed  by  a  nation  in  mourning  amid 
demonstrations  of  profound  and  universal  sorrow,  you  re- 
ceived and  consigned  to  their  final  resting  place,  within 
the  soil  of  his  native  State,  the  mortal  remains  of  Colonel 
Ellsworth. 

Borne  on  the  wings  of  lightning  to  the  remotest  confines  of 
the  Republic,  to  every  camp  and  cabin  came  the  sad  intelli- 
gence that  Ellsworth  was  dead.  That  he  who  so  recently 
went  forth  in  all  the  pride  of  manhood  followed  by  the  prayers 
and  hopes  of  a  nation,  had  fallen  a  bleeding  sacrifice  upon 
his  country's  altar.  The  nation  stood  grief-stricken  and 
appalled.  From  its  executive  head  to  the  humblest  citizen  of 
the  Republic,  there  was  but  one  sentiment  pervading  all 
loyal  hearts  and  that  of  deepest  sorrow  and  irreparable  loss. 
From  the  watch-towers  of  the  Republic,  sentinel  called  to 
sentinel  through  the  thick  darkness  of  the  nation's  night 
"  Ellsworth  is  dead  !"  That  cry,  at  first  a  terror,  became  an 
inspiration.  Paying  to  his  memory  a  hurried,  but  sincere 
tribute  of  respect,  every  arm  was  nerved  with  a  double 
power,  every  heart  quickened  with  a  firmer  purpose  to  sus- 
tain and  carry  forward  the  cause  in  which  he  was  so 
devotedly  engaged  and  for  which  he  freely  offered  up  his 
life.  Years  have  passed  since  then  ;  years  of  fratricidal 
strife  and  bloodshed ;  years  which  have  witnessed  the 
baptism  of  a  nation  in  the  blood  of  more  than  half  a  million 
of  its  citizens ;  years  of  the  breaking  down  of  a  despotic 
power  and  the  up-building  of  the  shattered  frame  work  of 
civil  government,  crowned  at  last  with  the  blessing  of  na- 
tional union  and  peace.  Though  almost  a  decade  has  passed, 
since  the  close  of  that  contest  yet  you  have  returned  to-day 
to  do  fresh  honor  to  the  memory  of  him  who  was  among 


32 

the  earliest  martyrs  to  that  cause  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment and  civil  liberty.  Standing  to-day  in  the  presence  of 
this  wailing  mul  itude  and  by  the  shadow  of  this  monu- 
mental shaft  marking  the  impressive  silence,  broken  only 
by  solemn  dirge  and  the  mournful  wail  of  drooping  banners 
rustling  in  the  breeze;  beholding  upon  these  upturned 
faces  the  lingering  shadow  of  a  heavy  grief,  the  sublime 
truth  is  proclaimed,  that,  though  dead,  the  memory  of  his 
virtues  still  lives  undimmed  by  time  and  sacredly  pre- 
served in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people.  Let  us  then, 
to  day,  while  standing  above  his  ashes  and  beneath  the  flag 
for  which  he  fell,  recount  his  virtues  and  learn  as  best  we 
may  the  lessons  of  his  life.  Ephraim  Elmer  Ellsworth  was 
born  at  Malta,  Saratoga  county,  Xew  York,  on  the  11th  day 
of  April,  1837.  Springing  from  the  ranks  of  the  people, 
unaided  by  fortune  or  position  he  entered  the  conflict  of 
life,  armed  only  with  an  indomitable  courage  and  a  royal 
nature.  These  were  his  tempered  weapon  and  shield  and 
right  gallantly  he  used  them.  His  boyhood,  like  that  of 
most  American  youth,  was  spent  at  home  and  in  the  common 
school  where  he  secured  a  fair  English  education  and  that 
early  training  so  essential  to  future  usefulness.  Early  in 
life  he  seemed  to  be  ambitious  to  make  the  profession  of 
arms  his  study  and  pursuit,  exhibiting  for  it  unusual  fond- 
ness. With  this  in  view,  we  find  him  at  an  early  age 
anxiously  looking  forward  to  the  time  when,  as  a  cadet  at 
West  Point,  he  might  have  the  opportunity  of  acquiring 
that  military  training  deemed  essential  to  military  renown. 
But  circumstances  beyond  his  control  (the  wantof  influential 
friends  and  a  sufficient  fortune)  thwarted  his  purposes  and 
he  was  forced  to  yield  reluctant  submission  to  what  undoubt- 
edly seemd  to  him  a  cruel  and  relentless  fate.  But,  although 
West  Point  was  refused  him,  yet  one  thing  could  not  be  de- 
nied or  taken  from  him  and  that  was  the  God-given  right  and 
inborn  capacity  to  make  himself  outside  and  independent  of 
it,  the  peer  of  any  man  within  it.  Though  thus  thwarted 
in  his  ambition  and  crushed  in  his  first,  best  hope,  yet  in  spirit 


33 

and  purpose  he  was  unconquered  and  unconquerable.  So 
unswerving  was  he  in  his  determination  that  you  might  deuy 
to  him  the  education  of  your  schools ;  exclude  him  from  the 
avenues  of  business  by  the  insuperable  barriers  of  poverty  ; 
place  beyond  his  reach  or  control  all  those  helps  which 
wealth  or  position  can  command,  yet  nothing  could  turn 
him  aside  from  the  deep  seated  purpose  of  his  life. 

There  are  some  men  greater  than  circumstances,  superior 
to  all  difficulties  and  who,  when  others  despair,  strike  master 
blows  against  fearful  odds.  Such  was  the  peculiarity  of 
Ellsworth's  character  and  to  it,  more  than  any  thing  else,  he 
owed  his  wonderful  success.  Baffled  for  the  moment  in 
his  hopes  of  receiving  a  military  education  in  the  schools, 
he  turned  his  back  upon  home  and  friends  and  pushed  out 
alone  into  the  world,  a  mere  boy,  to  meet  and  contend  with 
life's  duties  and  responsibilities.  After  engaging  in  business 
for  a  short  time  in  the  city  of  £s"ew  York,  he  removed  to 
Chicago,  whereas  a  patent  solicitor  he  acquired  a  favorable 
reputation  and  a  fair  livelihood. 

But  his  ardent  love  for  a  military  life  still  followed  him. 
He  became  captain  of  a  military  company  and  watching 
carefully  the  progress  of  the  Crimean  war  he  became  con- 
vinced that  the  zouave  organization  and  drill  was  the  best  for 
military  purposes.  Sending  to  France  for  the  necessary 
books  he  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the 
evolutions.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  such  a  military 
company  as  the  Chicago  Zouaves  was  ever  before  organized. 
Every  man  was  sworn  to  total  abstinence  from  spirituous 
liquors,  tobacco,  gambling  and  from  visiting  any  places  of  im- 
morality. Profanity  was  made  a  ground  of  prompt  dismissal 
from  the  company.  Politeness  of  address  and  chivalrous  cour- 
tesy of  demeanor  in  private  as  well  as  public  relations,  were 
rigidly  exacted.  To  exact  these  things  from  those  under  his 
influence  and  command  was  but  to  enforce  upon  them  the 
unwritten  statutes  of  his  own  heart  by  which  his  life  was  re- 
gulated and  controlled.  In  less  than  one  year  after  the  or- 
ganization of  this  company,  it  became  under  his  instruction 
5 


34 

the  best  drilled,  the  best  equipped  and  the  most  efficient  for 
action  ever  seen  in  America  and  probably  in  the  world.  For 
their  proficiency  in  drill  they  won  a  stand  of  colors  at  the 
Illinois  State  Fair. 

In  1800,  Col.   Ellsworth  with  his  Zouaves  visited  New 
York,  Boston  and  many  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  east 
and  was  everywhere  received  with  enthusiasm  and  his 
fame  and  that  of  his  Zouaves  at  once  became  national.    Re- 
turning to  Chicago,  he  organized  a  regiment  and  tendered 
its  services  to  the  state.     He  was  then  but  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  yet  the  ambition  of  his  life  had  been  partially 
satisfied.     He  had  become  the  leader  of  a  military  organi- 
zation and  his  whole  soul  seemed  wrapped  up  in  its  success. 
It  was  during  Ellsworth's  residence  in   Illinois  that  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  Abraham  Lincoln  and  became 
a  student  in  his  office,  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  and 
in  the  campaign  of  1860,  which  resulted  in  the  election  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  Ellsworth  took  an  active  part.    His  acquaint- 
ance with  Mr.  Lincoln  resulted  in  an  attachment  between 
them  as  lasting  as  their  lives,  and  at  the  earnest  solicitation 
of  the  president  elect,  Ellsworth  accompanied   him  on  his 
eventful  journey  to  the  capital.    Such  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  es- 
timate of  his  abilities  as  a  military  man  that  he  intended 
assigning  him  to  a  high  position  in  the  War  Department 
with  a  view  to  the  thorough  reorganization  of  that  branch 
of  the  military  service.     But  the  rebellion  came  suddenly 
upon  us  and  any  position  in  civil  life  was  then  ill-suited  to 
his  bold  and  intrepid  spirit.     The  lightnings  of  civil  war, 
which  as  a  bolt  from   heaven  shivered  the  solid  walls  of 
Sumter,  kindled  within  his  breast,  a  flame  of  military  en- 
thusiasm and  patriotic  devotion,  which  mounted  higher 
and  higher  until  quenched  in  his  own  blood.    On  the  15th 
day  of  April,  1861,  Abraham  Lincoln  issued  his  first  pro- 
clamation for  75000  volunteers  and  Ellsworth  immediately 
sought  and  obtained  permission   to  recruit  for  the   call. 
Hastening  to  Xew  York  city  he  at  once  enters  upon   his 
work  with  all  the  energy  and  enthusiasm  of  his  nature. 


35 

On  the  18th  day  of  April,  only  three  days  after  the  pro- 
mulgation, the  following  notice  appeared  in  the  $Tew  York 
daily  papers  : 

"  The  New  York  Firemen  Zouave  Regiment." 

"  Col.  Ellsworth,  of  Zouave  fame,  has  commenced  the 
organization  of  a  Zouave  regiment  in  this  city,  to  be  com- 
posed entirely  of  members  of  the  Fire  Department.  Eone 
other  are  to  be  received  but  those  who  have  done  service 
in  the  department  and  .are  able-bodied  men,  and  are  willing 
to  submit  to  the  hardships  that  are  encountered  by  the 
volunteers.  A  meeting  of  the  chief  of  the  department  and 
leading  members,  will  be  held  this  morning,  in  order  to 
make  a  final  decision  as  to  what  course  they  will  pursue. 

"  In  connection  with  the  above  the  following  poster  has 
been  distributed  : 

"  Down  xoith  Secession  ! 
"  The  Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved. 
"  To  the  members  of  the  New  York  Fire  Department : 

"  The  Government  appeals  to  the  ]STew  York  Fire  De- 
partment for  one  regiment  of  Zouaves.  The  subscriber  is 
detailed  in  New  York  for  the  purpose  of  drilling  and 
equipping  the  regiment  after  being  organized.  The  com- 
panies will  be  allowed  to  select  their  own  officers. 

"  Col.  Ellsworth, 

"  of  Chicago  Zouaves." 


On  the  following  day,  April  19th,  the  New  York  Herald 
contained  this  notice : 

"  The  Fire  Department  Zouaves." 

"One  of  the  prominent  features  of  the  expedition  to  be* 
sent  from  this  city,  for  the  defense  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, will  be  the  military  corps  organized  from  the  brave 


36 

firemen  of  New  York.  Colonel  Ellsworth  of  the  Chicago 
Zouaves  has  deeply  interested  himself  in  this  movement 
and  has  in  connection  with  the  principal  officers  of  the 
Fire  Department  of  the  city  issued  the  following  circular : 

"  First  Regiment  N.  Y.  Zouaves, 

"  Head  Quarters  5th  Avenue  Hotel. 

"  To  the  Firemen,  Officers,  Active  and  Exempt  Members  and 
Friends  of  the  Fire  Department  : 

"  Gentlemen  :  We  are  entering  upon  a  struggle  for  the 
maintenance  of  our  government,  our  institutions  and  our 
national  honor.  The  compliment  has  been  paid  you  of 
applying  for  a  full  regiment  of  your  own  men.  The  fire- 
men of  New  York  must  give  an  account  of  themselves  in 
this  contest.  We  appeal  to  you  to  turn  out  and  give  Ells- 
worth a  regiment  of  firemen  who  can  sustain  the  name 
of  the  New  York  Fire  Department  under  any  and  all  cir- 
cumstances." 

On  the  same  day  recruiting  stations  for  this  regiment 
were  opened  in  various  parts  of  the  city.  It  might 
be  asked  why  Ellsworth  made  choice  of  the  firemen  of 
New  York  city,  as  the  men  out  of  whom  his  regiment 
was  to  be  formed?  why  these  bold,  reckless  and  indomi- 
table spirits  were  the  only  ones  to  be  received  into  his 
command?  He  himself  has  best  answered  it.  In  reply  to 
a  friend  who  made  inquiry  of  him  as  to  his  motive  in  this 
selection,  he  said :  "  I  want  the  New  York  firemen  for  there 
are  no  more  effective  men  in  the  country  and  none  with 
whom  I  can  do  so  much.  Our  friends  at  Washington  are 
sleeping  on  a  volcano  and  I  want  men  who  are  ready  at 
any  moment  to  plunge  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight." 
While  others  pronounced  the  insurrection  an  adventure 
of  but  sixty  days'  duration  how  clearly  he  saw  and  appre- 
ciated the  extent  of  the  danger,  how  clearly  the  only  way 
to  meet  it.  He  saw  the  whole  south  in  arms,  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  Republic  and  its  flag  trampled  in  the  dust,  its 
fortresses  surrendered  with  shameless  treachery,  treason 


37 

lurking  in  every  department  of  the  government,  star  after 
star  going  out  in  the  national  galaxy,  a  confederacy  of 
revolted  states  organized  with  all  the  machinery  of  na- 
tional and  state  government  in  full  and  complete  operation, 
the  approaches  to  Washington  from  the  north  beset  with 
danger  while  to  the  southward,  and  in  the  very  face  of  the 
capital,  flaunted  the  defiant  banner  of  revolt,  beneath  which 
it  was  hourly  expected  an  attack  would  be  made  upon  the 
beleaguered  city,  while  in  his  ear  was  ringing  the  echo  of 
Sumter's  guns,  sounding  the  death  knell  of  the  departed 
union. 

It  was  at  such  an  hour  as  this  that  he  wanted  men,  not 
for  pomp  and  parade,  not  for  show,  not  for  idle  review,  but 
men  of  lofty  daring,  imbued  with  courage  and  heroism 
akin  to  his  own,  and  who,  in  his  own  language,  would  be 
"  ready  at  any  moment  to  plunge  into  the  thickest  of  the 
fight."  On  the  morning  of  April  20th  Colonel  Ellsworth 
issued  his  first  order  as  follows  : 

"  First  Regiment  New  York  Zouaves. 

"  The  members  of  the  above  organization  will  assemble  at 
their  company  head  quarters  this  evening  at  7  o'clock  pro- 
ceed to  Palace  garden  for  the  purpose  of  final  organization 
and  election  of  officers. 

"  By  order  of 

"  E.  E.  Ellsworth, 
"  Colonel  Commanding." 


The  meeeting  of  the  several  companies  at  Palace  garden 
at  the  time  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  order  disclosed  the 
fact  that  already  twelve  hundred  firemen  had  been  en- 
rolled under  Ellsworth's  command.  It  was  at  this  meeting 
that  a  full  regimental  organization  was  perfected  and  Ells- 
worth chosen  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  regiment  as' 
its  colonel,  and  in  the  evening  he  received  orders  from  the 
War  Department,  directing  his  future  movements.     Thus 


38 

within  five  days  after  the  call  for  volunteers,  and  within 
forty-eight  hours  after  he  entered  upon  the  work  of  raising 
his  regiment,  Colonel  Ellsworth,  as  the  result  of  his  in- 
domitable energy  and  acknowledged  ability  stood  at  the 
head  of  twelve  hundred  brave  men,  ready  to  march  to  the 
front.  From  this  time,  until  the  hour  of  his  departure, 
Colonel  Ellsworth  was  constantly  engaged  in  drilling  and 
equipping  his  command.  At  last  the  order  came  for  him 
to  move  his  regiment  to  Washington,  and  on  the  30th  of 
April,  selecting  eleven  hundred  picked  men  out  of  the 
twenty-three  hundred  who  had  enlisted  under  his  call,  he 
started  for  the  seat  of  war.  The  rumor  of  his  intended  de- 
parture was  the  signal  for  a  grand  ovation  to  the  command 
and  its  commander.  Wherever  they  appeared  they  were 
hailed  with  shouts  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm  and  Colonel 
Ellsworth  was  everywhere  the  centre  of  all  eyes  and  all 
hearts. 

The  president  of  the  fire  department,  in  presenting  a  stand 
of  colors  to  the  regiment,  said  to  Colonel  Ellsworth  as  he 
placed- them  in  his  hands  :  "  Take  them,  place  them  in  the 
midst  of  your  gallant  band,  and  wherever  the  fight  is  the 
thickest  and  the  bullets  fly  the  fastest,  let  this  banner  be 
borne,  and  may  you  and  your  comrades,  in  the  hour  of 
trial  and  battle,  remember  the  proud  motto  emblazoned 
upon  it:  'The  Star  Spangled  Banner  in  triumph  shall 
wave.'  Let  this  be  your  war-cry  as  you  rush  to  the  onset. 
Let  it  nerve  your  arms  and  fire  your  hearts.  Wave  this 
banner  in  triumph  only  and  do  you  bring  it  back,  though 
it  be  tattered  and  torn  in  the  fight.  Swear  by  this  flag  to 
live,  by  this  flag  to  die." 

Though  no  such  oath  was  necessary  on  the  part  of  Colonel 
Ellsworth  and  his  brave  men,  yet  in  accept)  ig  the  colors, 
he  took  occasion  to  make  this  solemn  vow :  "I  do  not  know," 
he  said,  "  that  any  of  the  hard  duty  I  have  had  to  perform 
within  the  last  ten  days  could  compare  to  the  task  now 
before  me.  There  are  many  things  I  had  rather  undertake 
than  to  express  the  sentiments  of  the  firemen  composing 


39 

this  regiment.  As  far  as  the  duty  to  come  is  concerned, 
lam  withthem,  one  in  feeling  and  sentiment.  ButI  cannot, 
to  the  fullest  extent,  participate  in  all  the  feelings  of  pleasure 
they  must  experience  in  receiving  this  beautiful  stand  of 
colors  from  their  old  companions.  It  is  peculiarly  pleasing 
to  them,  leaving  here  as  they  are  about  to  do,  to  attempt 
a  new  and  untried  duty,  to  receive  this  token  of  interest  in 
proof  that  their  movements  will  be  watched,  their  every  act 
regarded,  and  the  pride  that  the  department  will  take  in 
whatever  they  may  achieve.  If  any  thing  could  add  to  the 
eagerness  with  which  they  depart  upon  their  duty,  it  would 
be  the  fact  that  the  best  feelings,  not  only  of  the  fire  de- 
partment but  of  the  citizens  of  Xew  York  at  large,  are  with 
them.  I  know,  this,  for  I  believe  that,  although  my  ac- 
quaintance with  them  is  brief,  I  fully  understand  their 
feelings.  And  what  I  say  for  myself,  I  say  for  all  of  them, 
that  so  long  as  any  of  us  live,  so  long  as  one  single  arm 
responds  to  the  promptings  of  the  heart,  this  flag  will  not 
be  disgraced  by  any  act  of  the  ISTew  York  Zouaves.  We 
s  hall  carry  that  flag  into  battle.  On  behalf  of  the  regiment 
I  will  say,  that  should  we  come  back,  we  will  bring  back 
these  colors  as  pure  and  as  unsullied  as  they  are  now.  To 
this  we  pledge  our  lives." 

Oh !  with  what  stern  fidelity  he  kept  that  oath  !  In  three 
short  weeks  he  brought  that  banner  back  to  you,  not  with 
his  strong  right  arm,  but  folded  over  his  bleeding  breast, 
unstained,  but  with  his  heart's  best  blood.  Leaving  Xew 
York  on  the  30th  of  April  he  reached  the  capital  on  the 
3d  of  May,  where  he  immediately  went  into  camp  and 
devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  the  discipline  of  his  regi- 
ment. 

Washington  was  now  garrisoned  with  20,000  troops,  and 
the  people  were  growing  impatient  for  an  advance.  Every 
day  thousands  of  armed  forces  from  the  north  were  hurrying 
to  the  front  all  along  the  border  of  the  rebellious  states,  but* 
as  yet,  no  invasion  of  any  of  these  states  had  been  ordered  or 
taken  place.     Xo  effort  had  been  made  to  reassert  or  enforce 


40 

federal  authority  over  any  portion  of  the  seceded  territory. 
The  government  was  content,  for  the  time  being,  to  make 
secure  what  it  already  possessed.  At  last,  on  the  23d  day 
of  May,  1861,  the  long  looked  for  order  came,  and  13,000 
troops  were  detached  with  instructions  to  march  into  Vir- 
ginia and  take  possession  of  Alexandria  on  the  Virginia 
side  of  the  Potomac,  seven  miles  below  Washington.  It 
was  the  first  offensive  movement  on  the  part  of  the  go- 
vernment against  the  confederacy  and  at  once  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  whole  nation.  In  this  movement,  Colonel 
Ellsworth  became  deeply  interested.  While  others  looked 
on  with  indifference  or  patiently  waited  for  orders,  he, 
learning  of  the  intended  advance,  sought  the  commanding 
general  and  begged  the  privilege  of  having  a  place  assigned 
him  in  this  first  forward  movement  of  the  war.  His  request 
was  granted  and  he  was  placed  in  command  of  that  portion 
of  troops  which  was  to  descend  the  river  and  enter  the  city 
from  the  front,  while  the  other  division  was  to  cross  long 
bridge,  march  upon  Alexandria  and  attack  it  from  the  rear. 
Something  of  his  heroic  daring,  lofty  patriotism  and 
generous  spirit,  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  address 
to  his  regiment,  the  night  preceding  the  advance.  Calling 
his  men  into  line,  he  said  :  "  Boys,  yesterday  I  understood 
that  a  movement  was  to  be  made  against  Alexandria.  I 
went  to  see  General  Mansfield  and  told  him  that  I  would 
consider  it  as  a  personal  affront  if  he  would  not  allow  us 
to  have  the  right  of  the  line,  which  is  our  due,  as  the  first 
volunteer  regiment  sworn  in  for  the  war.  All  I  can  say, 
is  prepare  yourselves  for  a  nice  little  sail  and  at  the  end  of  it, 
a  skirmish.  Go  to  your  tents,  lie  down  and  take  your  rest 
until  two  o'clock,  when  the  boat  will  arrive  and  we  go 
forward  to  victory  or  death.  When  we  reach  the  place  of 
destination,  act  as  men.  Do  nothing  to  shame  the  regiment. 
Show  the  enemy  that  you  are  men  as  well  as  soldiers  and 
that  you  will  treat  them  with  kindness  until  they  force  you 
to  use  violence.  I  want  to  kill  them  with  kindness.  Go 
to  your  tents  and  do  as  I  tell  you." 


41 

What  determined  courage  and  generous  kindness  breathed 
in  every  word  of  that  brief  address.  Returning  to  his  silent 
tent,  he  then  spoke  to  others,  separated  far  from  him,  words 
so  full  of  filial  tenderness  and  patriotic  devotion;  of  such 
manly  courage  and  sublime  trust,  that  I  should  do  violence 
to  his  memory  should  I  withhold  them. 

"  Washington,  D.  G,  May  23,  1861. 

"  My  Dear  Father  and  Mother  :  The  regiment  is  ordered 
to  move  across  the  river  to-night.  We  have  no  means  of 
knowing  what  reception  we  are  to  meet  with.  I  am  in- 
clined to  the  opinion  that  our  entrance  to  the  city  of  Alex- 
andria will  be  hotly  contested,  as  I  am  just  informed  that 
a  large  force  has  arrived  there  to-day.  Should  this  happen, 
my  dear  parents,  it  may  be  my  lot  to  be  injured  in  some 
manner.  Whatever  may  happen,  cherish  the  consolation 
that  I  was  engaged  in  the  performance  of  a  sacred  duty  ; 
and  to-night,  thinking  of  the  probabilities  of  to-morrow  and 
the  occurrences  of  the  past,  I  am  perfectly  content  to  accept 
whatever  my  fortune  may  be,  confident  that  He  who  noteth 
even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  will  have  some  purpose  even  in 
the  fall  of  one  like  me.  My  darling  and  ever-loved  parents, 
good  bye,  God  bless,  protect  and  care  for  you . 

"Elmer." 


What  need  of  granite  or  epitaph.  Here  is  a  monument 
imperishable  as  history ;  should  that  shaft  grow  infirm  upon 
its  solid  base  and  topple  into  ruin,  here  is  a  nobler  monument 
as  enduring  as  time.  Fittingly  have  you  engraven  upon 
this  marble  shaft  these  sacred  words  :  "  He  who  noteth  even 
the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  will  have  some  purpose  even  in  the 
fall  of  one  like  me."  Well  might  you  have  also  inscribed 
on  its  summit,  where  the  first  light  of  the  opening  day 
might  illuminate  it,  this  other  sentiment :  "  I  was  engaged 
in  the  performance  of  a  sacred  duty."  On  the  24th,  at  two 
o'clock,  the  troops  were  in  motion,  and  in  the  first  gray  of 
6 


42 

the  morning  Ellsworth  was  in  front  of  Alexandria.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  land  and  comprehending  at  a  glance 
the  necessities  of  the  situation,  he  ordered  one  detachment 
to  tear  up  the  railroad  while  he,  with  another,  hurried  to 
seize  the  telegraph  station,  to  prevent  all  knowledge  of  the 
movement  being  sent  to  Richmond.  On  his  way  through 
the  streets,  his  eyes  caught  sight  of  a  confederate  flag  flying 
over  the  Marshal  House.  Instantly  his  loyal  heart  was  on 
fire  with  all  that  love  for  the  old  flag,  and  hatred  for  its 
rival,  of  which  his  lofty  nature  was  susceptible  :  he  saw 
in  his  own,  all  he  had  been  taught  to  hold  sacred  and  dear ; 
in  that,  all  he  abhorred.  This  was  the  banner  of  our  fathers, 
that  of  their  recreant  children  ;  this  spoke  of  union,  that 
of  disunion;  this  of  strength,  that  of  weakness;  this  of  a 
glorious  past,  that  of  a  doubtful  future ;  this  of  loyalty,  that 
of  treason  ;  this  of  liberty,  that  of  slavery ;  this  of  a  govern- 
ment for  all  the  people,  that  of  a  government  for  the  few ; 
this  of  equality,  that  of  caste  ;  this  of  the  nobility  of  man- 
hood, that  of  the  nobility  of  ancestry;  this  of  everything 
dear  to  the  true  American  heart,  that  of  everything  which 
it  could  not  honor,  nor  respect;  this  spoke  of  one  country, 
one  people  and  one  flag  eternal  and  indivisible,  that  of  a 
divided  country,  a  discordant  people  and  a  dishonored  flag. 

Seeing  and  feeling  all  this,  as  one  with  Ellsworth's  na- 
ture could,  we  may  understand  something  of  the  significance 
of  his  heroic  deed  as  he  uttered  the  cry,  "  That  flag  must 
come  down,"  and  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  bounded 
like  lightning  to  the  statf  and  with  his  own  hand  tore  it 
down  but  while  bearing  it  away  in  triumph,  the  assassin's 
bullet  enters  his  manly  breast  and  he  falls.  "  Oh !  what  a 
fall  was  there  my  countrymen.  Then  you  and  I  and  all  of  us 
fell  down,  while  bloody  treason  flourished  over  us."  Say 
not  it  was  rashness  or  folly,  say  not  that  it  was  a  useless 
sacrifice,  but  rather  remember  and  cherish  it  as  an  act  of 
the  sublimest  heroism  and  purest  self  sacrificing  devotion. 

It  was  love  for  the  flag  which  prompted  it.  It  was  this 
love  for  the  flag  which  prompted  a  nation  to  rally  round  it 


43 

in  its  defense.  It  was  this  love  for  the  flag  which  kept  it 
flying  over  city  and  fortress,  to  be  lowered  only  as  the  last 
act  of  surrender.  It  was  this  love  for  the  fla^  which  in- 
spired  that  ringing  order  from  your  own  heroic  Dix  :  "If 
any  man  attempt  to  haul  down  the  American  flag,  shoot 
him  on  the  spot."  It  was  this  love  for  the  flag,  which 
flung  it  to  the  breeze  over  the  rebellious  city  of  New 
Orleans,  on  the  anniversary  of  Washington's  birth-day,  be- 
neath which  an  hundred  armed  men  held  a  mob  at  bay  and 
kept  it  flying,  until  the  going  down  of  the  sun.  It  was 
this  love  for  the  flag,  which  warmed  the  breast  of  that  brave 
soldier  at  Vicksburg,  who,  when  his  comrades  deserted  him, 
refused  to  retrace  his  steps  and  planting  his  colors  within 
twenty  yards  of  the  enemy's  rifle  pits,  stood  by  them  all 
the  day  long.  It  was  this  love  for  the  flag  which  kept  it 
flying  over  the  crumbling  walls  of  Sumter  amidst  shot  and 
shell  and  only  lowering  it  at  last  with  the  honors  of  a  na- 
tional salute.  It  was  this  love  for  the  flag  which  gave  voice 
to  that  sublime  declaration  of  Major  Anderson,  the  hero 
of  Sumter :  "  God  Almighty  nailed  that  flag  to  the  mast 
and  I  could  not  have  lowered  it,  if  I  had  tried."  It  was  this 
love  for  the  flag  which  inspired  the  minister  of  the  Gospel 
to  exclaim  :  "  Let  the  flag  of  our  country  wave  from  the 
spire  of  every  church  in  the  laud,  with  nothing  above  it 
but  the  cross  of  Christ."  It  was  this  love  for  the  flag  which 
filled  the  soul  of  the  dying  soldier  at  Belmont,  who  with 
both  limbs  shot  away,  was  found  singing,  in  death,  "  The 
Star  Spangled  Banner."  It  was  this  unutterable  love  for 
the  flag,  which  no  prison  terrors  could  destroy,  that 
prompted  the  boys  at  Libby,  on  the  anniversary  of  their 
country's  independence,  to  tear  up  their  scanty  clothing  of 
red,  white  aud  blue  and  blend  it  together  on  their  prison 
wall,  in  imitation  of  their  country's  flag.  Akin  to  this  was 
Ellsworth's  love  for  his  flag  and  with  such  love  the  act 
which  cost  him  his  life,  was  a  deed  of  lofty  heroism. 

Concealing  his    death  from  his    command,  for  fear   of 
terrible  vengeance  on  the  whole  city,  his  lifeless  remains 


44 

were  borne  back  to  "Washington  and  at  the  request  of  Pre- 
sident Lincoln  were  placed  in  state  at  the  Executive  Man- 
sion. His  death  was  the  subject  of  general  comment  and 
universal  sorrow  from  the  chief  executive  of  the  nation 
to  the  humblest  citizen  in  the  land. 

A  correspondent,  who  visited  the  Executive  Mansion  on 
the  morning  of  the  25th  of  May,  gives  the  following  account 
of  how  the  news  of  Ellsworth's  fall  was  received  by  Presi- 
dent Lincoln.  He  said  :  "  I  called  at  the  White  House  this 
morning  with  Senator  Wilson  of  Massachusetts  to  see  the 
president  on  a  matter  of  pressing  public  business  and  as 
we  entered  the  library,  we  marked  the  president  standing 
before  a  window,  looking  across  the  Potomac,  running  at 
the  foot  of  the  presidential  grounds.  He  did  not  move 
until,  we  approached  very  closely  when  he  turned  round 
abruptly  and  advanced  toward  us  extending  his  hand, 
saying,  '  Excuse  me,  but  I  cannot  talk.'  We  supposed 
his  voice  had  given  way  for  some  cause  or  other  and  we 
were  just  about  to  inquire,  when  to  our  surprise,  the  pre- 
sident-burst into  tears  and  concealed  his  face  in  his  hand- 
kerchief. He  walked  up  and  down  the  room  for  some 
moments  and  we  stepped  aside  in  silence,  not  a  little  moved 
at  such  an  unusual  spectacle  in  such  a  man  and  in  such  a 
place.  After  composing  himself  somewhat,  the  president 
took  his  seat  and  desired  us  to  approach.  He  said :  '  I 
will  make  no  apology,  gentlemen,  for  my  weakness ;  but 
I  knew  poor  Ellsworth  well  and  held  him  in  great  regard. 
Just  as  you  entered  the  room,  Captain  Fox  left  me,  after 
giving  me  the  painful  details  of  Ellsworth's  unfortunate 
death.  The  event  was  so  unexpected  and  the  recital  so 
touching  that  it  quite  unnerved  me.'  The  president  here 
made  a  violent  effort  to  restrain  his  emotions  and  after  a 
pause,  he  proceeded  to  give  us  the  incidents  of  the  tragedy. 
As  he  closed  his  relation  he  exclaimed  :  '  Poor  fellow  !  it  was 
undoubtedly  an  act  of  rashness,  but  it  only  shows  the  heroic 
spirit  that  animates  our  soldiers,  from  high  to  low,  in  this 
righteous  cause  of  ours.     Yet  who  can  restrain  their  grief 


45 

to  see  them  fall  in  such  a  way  as  this  ;  not  by  the  fortunes 
of  war,  but  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.'  There  is  one  fact 
that  has  reached  me,  which  is  of  great  consolation  to  my 
heart  and  quite  a  relief  after  this  melancholy  affair :  I  learn 
from  several  persons  that  when  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were 
raised  again  in  Alexandria  many  of  the  people  actually 
wept  for  joy  and  manifested  the  liveliest  gratification  at 
seeing  this  familiar  and  loved  emblem  once  more  floating 
above  them."  Let  this  consolation  be  ours  and  not  only 
that  it  waves  over  Alexandria  but  that  this  "familiar  and 
loved  emblem"  once  more  floats  over  every  foot  of  Ameri- 
can soil,  amidst  the  universal  rejoicings  of  a  united  people. 

It  is  said  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  rebellion,  our  flag 
was  placed  within  a  rude  coffin  and  borne  in  mimic  sorrow 
through  the  streets  of  Memphis  and  lowered  to  its  grave, 
in  token  of  its  final  death.  Little  was  it  thought  that  so 
soon,  amid  the  thunders  of  war,  it  was  to  come  forth  again, 
redeemed  and  purified  by  the  blood  of  martyrs,  to  hold 
sovereign  sway  for  ever  and  ever. 

Fellow  Citizens  :  Commendable  as  have  been  your  efforts 
to  give  expression  to  your  estimate  of  his  private  and  public 
virtues,  yet  no  monumental  marble  can  fittingly  proclaim 
the  true  nobility  of  his  character.  Had  you  lain  its  founda- 
tion stones  broad  and  deep  upon  the  immutable  granite, 
it  would  not  have  been  firmer  than  were  his  convictions  of 
duty  :  had  its  summit  pierced  the  heavens,  it  would  not  have 
been  loftier  than  was  his  patriotism  ;  had  you  burnished  its 
sides  until  they  were  as  resplendent  as  the  noon-day  sun, 
it  would  not  have  been  brighter  than  his  heroic  deeds  : 
had  you  chiseled  his  name  so  deep  into  its  marble  front 
that  it  might  defy  the  ravages  of  time,  it  would  not  have 
been  more  enduring  than  was  his  fidelity.  For  this  high 
sense  of  duty  which  gave  stability  to  his  purposes;  for  this 
exalted  patriotism,  which  acknowledged  no  restraint ;  for 
this  sublime  heroism,  which  was  insensible  to  danger ;  for 
this  unswerving  fidelity,  which  no  power  could  alienate  or 
corrupt,  and  for  this  pure  life  and  heroic  death,  will  his  name 


46 

go  down  among  the  brightest  of  history,  to  the  latest  gene- 
ration. And  though  this  marble  prove  treacherous  to  its 
sacred  charge  and  crumble  into  ruin  :  should  all  knowledge 
even  of  the  spot  where  his  ashes  rest,  fade  from  the  memory 
of  living  men  :  yet  so  long  as  our  banner  rides  on  the  breeze, 
so  long  as  a  solitary  star  remains  to  light  up  its  folds,  so 
long  as  a  single  arm  can  be  found  to  be  raised  in  its  defense, 
just  so  long  will  the  memory  of  his  virtues  and  his  valor  be 
perpetuated  and  preserved. 

Be  it  ours  to  emulate  his  example  and  may  the  time 
speedily  come  when  all  bearing  the  proud  name  of  an 
American  citizen  from  every  quarter  of  the  Republic,  for- 
getting the  bitterness  of  the  past  and  looking  forward  only 
to  the  grand  possibilities  of  the  future,  shall  stand  together 
in  fraternal  unity  and  peace  beneath  the  banner  of  our 
fathers,  lifting  no  arm  but  in  its  defense,  breathing  no  prayer 
but  for  its  protection,  and  thus  sustained  and  upheld  by  the 
invincible  power  of  a  united  people,  may  it  float  forever  on 
land  and  sea,  the  pride  of  the  nation  and  the  hope  of  the 
world.  . 


MUSIC. 
March,  "The  Soldier's  Farewell." 

POEM. 

Mr.  "W.  H.  McElroy  of  Albany  read  the  following  ori- 
ginal poem  : 

"This  world  of  ours,  this  wise  old  world," 

"  Shouts  out  to  every  son 
"  Whose  flag  iu  life's  great  fight's  unfurled  — 

"  Look  out  for  number  one 
"  Be  earnest,  plucky,  watch  and  wait, 
"  Confusion  seize  the  sleeper, 
But  on  the  march  don't  carry  weight  " 
You're  uot  your  brother's  keeper. 


47 

At  all  of  us  these  worldly  cries 

Forever  more  are  shouted 
No  word  about  self  sacrifice, 

No  pity  for  the  routed  : 
We're  trumpeted  to  do  our  best 

To  lead  the  marshalled  host, 
And  —  let  the  Devil  take  the  rest 

The  halting  hiadermost. 

And  spiritless  would  be  the  march, 

And  oft  would  droop  the  banners, 
Did  there  not  sound  down  Heaven's  arch, 

Clear  as  the  stars'  hosannas, 
A  voice  that  makes  the  dark  ways  clear, 

That  prompts  sublime  endeavor, 
By  teaching  that  the  life  lost  here 

Is  found  up  there  forever. 

The  old  man  kissed  the  negro  child 

Held  up  beside  the  scaffold, 
He  marked  the  fatal  noose  and  smiled, 

And  what  was  death  but  baffled  ? 
The  pulseless  heart  of  old  John  Brown, 

In  silent  grave  they  bury, 
His  soul  time's  path  goes  marching  down  — 

No  halt  for  Harper's  Ferry  ! 

A  lone  star  flag  floats  in  the  air, 

And  bright  young  eyes  have  spied  it; 
Who  strikes  it  low  had  best  prepare 

To  lay  his  life  beside  it : 
The  hand  which  hauled  it  down  forsooth 

Knocked  at  Death's  ebon  portal, 
It  oped  and  lo !  God's  fount  of  youth 

And  Ellsworth  was  immortal ! 

Friends  hedged  him  round,  friends  fond  and  true, 

Fame  caught  him  in  her  meshes, 
Skies  spread  above  him  cloudless  blue  — 

Whose  future  was  so  precious  ? 
But  as  his  life  burst  into  bloom 

He  manfully  resigned  it  — 
And  this  the  lesson  from  his  tomb 

(Who  lose  their  life  shall  find  it). 


48 

He  laid  his  life  in  weakness  down, 

And  at  the  self  same  hour 
The  cross  changed  to  a  victor's  crown, 

And  weakness  rose  in  power. 
Thenceforth  he  led  a  two-fold  life, 

One  in  celestial  regions, 
The  other  in  the  crimson  strife 

Still  fighting  'mid  the  legions. 

Still  fighting,  when  the  lightning  bore 

The  tidings  to  the  nation, 
That  Elmer  Ellsworth  never  more 

Might  toil  for  her  salvation, 
Then,  ere  his  sword  could  gather  rust, 

A  countless  host  embraced  it, 
And  swore  the  flag  he  trailed  in  dust 

Should  stay  where  he  had  placed  it. 

So,  being  dead,  he  spoke  and  fought  — 

In  battle's  fiercest  brunt, 
His  mem'ry  deeds  of  valor  taught, 

Still  kept  him  in  the  front, 
Still  saw  his  comrades  on  his  breast 

A  golden  circlet '  gleaming 
"  Non  nobis  sed  pro  patria," 

The  best  of  mottoes  deeming. 

To-day,  as  rolls  Potomac's  stream 

No  picket  guard  stands  by  it ; 
'Twould  seem  like  ravings  of  a  dream 

To  ask  if  all  was  quiet. 
Long  since  the  sword  forgot  its  foes, 

And  lost  its  love  of  harming, 
And  now,  beat  to  a  plow,  it  shows 

All  that  it  knows  of  farming. 

The  angel  of  peace  with  us  abides 
To  shape  the  future  story  — 

To  urge  us  on  with  rapid  strides 
From  glory  unto  glory. 


1  When  Ellsworth,  was  shot  at  Alexandria,  the  bullet  from  Jackson's  (his 
murderer's)  gun  drove  a  gold  circlet  which  the  young  hero  had  worn 
on  his  breast  into  his  heart.  It  bore  the  inscription,  "  Non  nobis  sed  pro 
patria. " 


49 

But  if  Secession  ever  wills 

To  raise  the  old  cry  louder, 
Then  God  again  will  run  His  mills 

And  grind  it  into  powder. 

Rest  here  amid  the  flowers  of  May, 

Thou  to  fell  treason  fateful, 
We  plant  this  shaft  and  thus  would  say, 

The  Country's  not  ungrateful. 
To-day  her  spirit's  hovering  here, 

0,  more  than  flow'r  of  Sparta, 
She  names  thee,  dearest  of  her  dear, 

Fair  freedom's  foremost  martyr. 


ADDRESS. 

Lieutenant  Fkancis  E.  Brownell,  U.  S.  A.  spoke  as  follows  : 
It  has  been  often  charged,  even  by  those  who  intend  to 
honor  Ellsworth,  that  he  lost  his  life  while  committing  a 
very  rash  and  reckless  act;  and  some  military  men,  in- 
spired, perhaps,  by  not  the  most  laudable  of  motives,  have 
insisted  that  the  young  soldier  lacked  the  very  principle 
which  he  exacted  from  others,  discipline  and  obedience  to 
orders.  To  me  it  is  plain  that  he  sacrificed  his  life  in  the 
endeavor  to  preserve  order  and  enforce  discipline.  The 
history  of  the  foundation  of  his  regiment,  of  the  unexampled 
feat  accomplished  in  its  organization  and  equipment,  the 
difficulties  he  encountered  and  the  obstacles  placed  in  his 
way  by  those  who  looked  with  jealous  eyes  upon  his  achieve- 
ments and  the  discouragements,  vexations  and  annoyances 
of  the  few  days  spent  in  Washington  prior  to  the  fatal  morn- 
ing of  the  24th  of  May,  1861,  will  show  the  groundlessness 
of  the  charge. 

Let  me  briefly  rehearse  the  events  preceding  the  tragedy. 
On  the  17th  of  April,  1861,  Ellsworth  left  Washington  for 
the  city  of  New  York,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  his 
regiment.  The  two  following  days  he  spent  in  consultation 
with  the  representatives  of  the  New  York  fire  department. 
7 


50 

On  the  22d  the  rolls  were  full  and  two  companies  had  been 
formed  for  each  letter  of  the  regiment.  The  question  then 
was  not  who  should  go,  but  who  should  be  left  behind. 
Ellsworth  settled  the  matter  with  his  usual  promptness  and 
decision  by  placing  the  companies  opposite  each  other  and 
selecting  those  who  he  wished  to  have  go,  from  appearance 
of  the  men. 

On  the  25th  of  April  we  were  uniformed  and,  with  the 
exception  of  arms,  equipped  for  the  field.     The  26th  was 
spent  in  the  endeavor  to  procure  arms  from  the  State,  and 
not  being  successful  Ellsworth  appealed  to  the  men  whose 
generosity  and  patriotism  enabled  him  to  raise  the  regiment, 
for  aid  in  this  particular.     They  nobly  responded  by  sub- 
scribing some  $60,000,  with  which  Sharp's  rifles  of  various 
calibre  were  purchased.   These  rifles,  which  were  of  ten 
different  patterns,  were  placed  in  our  hands  on  Sunday,  the 
28th,  and  it  was  announced  in  the  papers  that  we  should  leave 
for  Washington  on  that  day.     The  announcement  proved 
premature;  but  on  the  following  day,  escorted  by  the  New 
York  tire  department,  amid  the  cheers  of  countless  thou- 
sands, the  regiment  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  the  point  of 
embarkation.     While  on  the  march,  new  obstacles  presented 
themselves.     Ellsworth    received  orders  from   the   major 
general  commanding  the  milita  in  New  York,  sent  to  him, 
I  have  understood,  from  the  headquarters  at  Albany,  not  to 
leave  the  city.     On  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Canal  street 
he  received  a  more  peremptory  order  not  to  leave  and  the 
regiment  was  halted.     Here  Major  General  Wool,  com- 
manding the  department  of  the  East,  came  up,  and  Ellsworth 
appealed  to  him.     Wool  enquired  why  they  wished  to  detain 
him,  to  which  he  replied  that  the  only  reason  he  knew  of 
was  that  he  had  a  few  more  men  than  the  state  militia  law 
recognized.     At  this  time  it  must  be  recollected  we  had 
not  yet  been  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
Wool  replied,  "If  that  is  all,  you  have  my  permission  to 
proceed."    The  regiment  then  resumed  its  march,  embarked 
upon  the  steamer  Baltic  for  Annapolis,  and  upon  its  arrival 


51 

there  proceeded  by  rail  to  "Washington.  It  was  then  quar- 
tered in  the  capital.  The  city  was  full  of  unorganized  and 
undisciplined  troops  and  depredations  of  all  sorts  were 
committed  almost  with  impunity.  Some  of  these  were 
charged  upon  our  regiment.  Ellsworth,  with  that  true 
chivalry  and  generosity  which  characterized  him,  paid  the 
damage,  and  from  that  time  out  every  act  of  plunder  was 
laid  upon  the  Fire  Zouaves. 

I  do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  our  regiment  was 
any  better  than  the  others,  but  this  I  do  know ;  it  was  not 
much  worse  and  many  of  the  acts  committed  by  others 
were  falsely  accredited  to  us.  Ellsworth's  soul,  trained  in 
the  severest  school  of  discipline,  revolted  at  the  disorder 
and  he  procured  an  order  changing  our  quarters  from  the 
capital  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Potomac.  Here  he  bent 
his  energies  to  the  task  before  him.  Drills  were  undertaken, 
discipline  enforced,  j^ow  came  rumors  of  an  intended 
invasion  of  the  sacred  soil.  Ellsworth  knew  that  once  in 
the  field  he  could  the  more  readily  compel  obedience  and 
make  soldiers  of  his  men,  than  he  could  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  demoralized  city  of  Washington.  Ellsworth  asked 
to  be  sent  to  Virginia ;  the  citizens  of  Alexandria,  held 
upon  parole  by  the  guns  of  the  Pawnee,  requested  that  if 
their  town  was  to  be  occupied  the  Eire  Zouaves  should  not 
be  sent  among  them.  Ellsworth  was  told  that  he  might  go 
on  one  condition,  viz  :  that  if  any  breaches  of  discipline  or 
misbehavior  occurred  the  regiment  should  be  mustered  out 
of  service.  To  many  here  present  to-day  such  a  contingency 
would  seem  slight.  You  who  were  in  the  service  at  that 
time  and  fully  appreciate  the  term,  will  agree  with  me  when 
I  say  that  Ellsworth  might  rather  have  been  mustered  out 
if  possible  a  hundred  times  by  the  angel  of  death  than  have 
had  the  threatened  disgrace  put  upon  him.  Up  to  the  day 
before  we  left  for  Alexandria  we  had  never  received  any- 
thing from  the  hands  of  the  general  government  except- 
rations,  and  camp  and  garrison  equipage.  Overcoats  and 
new  arms  promised  us  in  Xew  York  never  came.     This 


52 

treatment  naturally  caused  considerable  feeling  among  a 
portion  of  the  men,  and  all  these  things  made  Ellsworth 
anxious  for  the  conduct  of  the  regiment  upon  which  his 
future  military  career  so  largely  depended.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  concluding  remark  made  to  us  in  a  brief  ad- 
dress about  eleven  o'clock  the  night  before  his  death. 
"  No  matter,"  said  he,  "  what  may  occur  to-morrow,  not  a 
shot  must  be  fired  without  proper  orders ;"  and  so  far  as  I 
know  this  order  was  not  violated  save  in  the  single  instance 
following  his  death.  After  crossing  the  river,  Ellsworth 
left  the  regiment,  in  company  with  the  Eev.  Mr.  Dodge, 
chaplain,  a  Mr.  Winser  and  Mr.  House,  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Tribune,  with  the  intention  of  ascertaining 
the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  city;  a  guard  of  five  accom- 
panied him.  When  we  came  within  sight  of  the  Marshall 
House,  with  the  rebel  flag  flying,  Ellsworth  directed  the  ser- 
geant to  return  to  the  regiment,  which  was  scarcely  five 
squares  distant  and  entirely  out  of  sight,  and  order  Captain 
Coyle  with  Co.  A  to  the  scene  as  quickly  as  possible.  He 
then  passed  on  beyond  the  house,  but,  doubtless  reflecting 
that  the  sight  of  the  flag  would  enrage  the  men  and  might 
lead  to  the  very  consequences  he  was  endeavoring  to  avoid, 
turned  back,  passed  into  the  house  and,  while  coming  down 
the  stairs  with  the  flag  upon  his  arm,  laid  down  his  life  — 
as  I  claim,  a  sacrifice  to  his  country  and  his  endeavor  to 
preserve  order.  I  have  always  felt  that  his  animating  pur- 
pose was  simply  to  preserve  the  peace.  A  word  from  him 
and  the  Marshall  House  would  have  been  levelled  to  the 
dust.  He  was  too  brave  a  man  to  order  the  guard  to  go 
where  he  would  not,  and  it  was  too  small  to  think  of  divid- 
ing it,  and  too  noble  himself  to  think  for  a  moment  that  the 
very  person  he  was  trying  to  shield  would  assassinate  him. 
It  was  not  bravado  that  inspired  his  deed  and  led  to  his 
death,  but  rather  the  simple,  manly,  direct  way  a  prudent 
soldier  under  all  the  circumstances  would  have  adopted  to 
save  a  town  from  sacking;  and  its  inhabitants  from  slaughter. 


53 


MUSIC. 


Music. —  Descriptive  Fantasia,  "  Recollections    of  the 
siege  of  St.  Petersburgh." 


COMMUNICATION. 

The  Secretary  then  read  the  following  communication 
from  the  United  States  Zouave  Cadets  at  Chicago  : 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  surviving  members  of  the  United 
States  Zouave  Cadets  held  at  the  Sherman  House,  in 
Chicago,  on  Friday  May  22d,  1874,  it  was  announced  that 
the  monument  erected  at  Mechanicsville,  New  York,  above 
the  grave  of  Col.  Elmer  E.  Ellsworth,  the  original  com- 
mander of  this  company,  would  be  unveiled  on  Wednesday, 
the  27th  instant. 

"  On  motion  a  committee  composed  of  Freeman  Conner, 
E.  B.  Knox,  and  Sidney  P.  Walker,  was  appointed  to  pre- 
pare a  suitable  expression  of  the  sentiment  of  those  present. 
The  address  as  prepared  was  unanimously  adopted  and  is 
as  follows : 

"  The  surviving  members  of  the  United  States  Zouave 
Cadets  desire  to  express  our  gratification  at  the  merited 
and  timely  recognition  of  the  chivalrous  valor  of  one  who 
was  once  our  youthful  commander.  Whoever  honors  him 
touches  a  chord  to  which  our  hearts  instinctively  respond. 
We  deeply  regret  our  inability  to  be  present  at  the  beau- 
tiful and  interesting  ceremonies.  We  send  these  im- 
perfect expressions  of  our  sympathy  and  love  to  those 
who  are  his  own  blood,  and  also  to  those  of  our  country- 
men who  have  united  in  rearing  this  memorial,  and  pos- 
sess in  common  with  ourselves  the  heritage  of  his  fame# 
We  would  remind  you,  friends,  that  while  this  beautiful 
monument  will  serve  to  express  our  devotion  to  his  memory, 
it  can  not  add  to  the  lustre  of  the  name  of  Ellsworth.  He 
carved  his  own  monument,  out  of  material  as  lasting  as  the 


54 

granite  hills,  broad  at  the  base,  and  with  an  apex  towering 
amid  the  clouds.  By  one  act  of  heroic  self-sacrifice  he 
leaped  to  the  summit,  and  with  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world 
fixed  upon  his  solitary  figure,  contented  thus  and  then  to 
die.  The  '  glory  which  springs  from  the  soldier's  sepul- 
chre '  is  his  forevermore.  The  violets  bloom  above  him, 
and  glisten  with  the  precious  chrysm  of  a  nation's  tears. 
While  you  clasp  hands  about  his  grave,  friends  and  country- 
men, may  you  feel  the  union  of  our  hearts  and  yours  in 
the  prayer  '  God  bless  our  native  land ! ' 

"  May  the  genius  of  liberty  seem  to  whisper  in  your  ears, 
that  while  the  love  of  freedom  dwells  in  human  hearts, 
the  cause  of  patriotism  shall  not  fail  of  such  heroic  blood. 

"Freeman  Connor,  Chairman. 

"  E.  B.  Knox,  Secretary." 


REMARKS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

The  President  spoke  as  follows  : 

Fellow  Citizens  :  The  absence  of  General  Viele,  who  is  the 
next  speaker  on  this  programme,  brings  these  interesting 
ceremonies  to  a  close.  But  before  this  audience  is  dismissed, 
I  cannot  forego  taking  a  liberty  which  is  not  upon  the  pro- 
gramme and  that  is  to  express  what  I  believe  to  be  the 
sentiment  of  every  person,  of  praise  and  gratitude  to  the 
gentlemen  who  have  formed  the  Ellsworth  Monument 
Association  and  the  Local  Executive  Committee  who,  not- 
withstanding all  kinds  of  discouragements,  have  labored  and 
worked  in  this  cause  of  love  and  affection  until  success  at- 
tended their  efforts  and  they  have  seen  this  triumphant  day  — 
much  is  due  to  them.  Their  efforts  have  been  persistent, 
without  interruption.  No  history  will  record  their  deeds 
and  it  is  but  a  fitting  termination  to  these  ceremonies  that 
we  should  give  them  the  praise  and  credit  that  is  due  them 
for  the  services  that  they  have  rendered  ;  which  have  cul- 
minated in  the  erection  of  that  beautiful  monument. 
Fellow  Citizens,  there  is  one  more  point  and  that  is  the  pre- 


55 

sence  here  of  so  many  veterans,  scarred  and  maimed,  and 
the  splendid  staff  of  officers  who  have  come  here  to  join  in 
this  tribute  of  praise.  Many  are  in  uniform  and  many 
are  in  citizen's  dress,  standing  in  the  background,  yet  who 
could  tell  us  more  than  we  ever  knew  of  the  hardships, 
trials,  courage  and  energies  required  to  serve  three  years 
in  the  army  of  the  Republic.  To  those  we  here  give  credit 
and  honor  and  especially  to  the  officers  and  members  of  that 
regiment  known  as  the  "  Ellsworth  Avengers,"  the  44th. 
You  will  see  their  badges  scattered  around  and  the  wearers 
quiet  and  unobtrusive,  but  with  hearts  filled  with  patriotic 
fire,  that  shall  only  be  extinguished  when  they  lay  down 
their  lives.  We  should  remember  these  men  and  not  fail 
to  do  them  honor  and  credit.  Above  all  let  me  thank 
the  committee  of  arrangements,  and  especially  the  ladies 
who  have  labored  or  worked  so  hard  and  so  nobly  in  thejcause 
until  their  hearts  rejoice  when  a  little  more  of  their  services 
will  be  required  to  complete  the  pleasure  of  this  occasion. 
Deity  himself  has  smiled  upon  us  here  and  everything  has 
passed  off  without  blemish  and  without  fault.  The  com- 
mittee have  reason  to  be  thankful  and  rejoice  not  only  in 
the  triumphs  celebrated  here  to-day,  but  in  the  fact  that 
they  are  celebrated  by  so  many  in  our  midst.  I  am  re- 
minded, in  alluding  to  the  44th  regiment,  the  Ellsworth 
Regiment,  that  these  two  symbols  to  the  right  and  left  of  the 
stand  are  the  symbols  they  bore  through  the  brunt  of  the 
war,  and  they  bear  many  honors. 

The  exercises  will  now  close  with  the  Benediction  by  the 
Chaplain. 

BENEDICTION. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Flagler,  the  Chaplain,  then  pronounced 
the  following  Benediction :  Great  God  of  nations  look  in 
mercy  upon  us  and  grant  that  we  may  all  become  the  true 
soldiers  of  Christ  and  at  last  meet  one  great  and  Divine  Com- 
mander in  heaven.  May  grace,  mercy  and  peace  abide  with 
us  forever.     Amen. 


5Q 


THE  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

General  E.  F.  Bullard,  of  Troy. 

All  great  revolutions  in  which  the  cause  of  humanity 
has  been  advanced,  have  had  their  baptism  in  blood. 

Ellsworth,  the  first  hero  martyr  of  our  last  American 
armed  conflict,  had  his  birthplace  upon  the  plains  of 
Saratoga  within  ten  miles  of  the  locality  where  the  memora- 
ble battle  of  Stillwater  was  fought. 

When  we  look  to  the  history  of  this  country  and  find 
that  for  over  two  centuries  its  soil  has  been  enriched  by 
the  best  blood  of  the  race  in  its  struggle  for  freedom,  we 
are  almost  in  doubt  which  has  the  greater  honor,  Saratoga 
for  being  the  place  of  his  nativity,  or  Ellsworth  for  being 
the  offspring  of  that  historic  ground. 

On  the  4th  day  of  July,  1609,  Chaniplain,  the  represen- 
tative of  the  French,  first  entered  this  State  through  the 
lake,  since  bearing  his  name  and  on  the  30th  day  of  the 
same  month  fought,  with  the  then  peaceful  natives,  the  first 
battle  that  history  has  recorded  as  having  taken  place 
within  its  borders. 

Only  a  few  days  later,  and  in  September  of  the  same 
year,  Hendrick  Hudson  discovered  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful rivers  upon  the  globe,  and  in  the  famous  Halfmoon, 
as  early  as  October,  1609,  sailed  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Mohawk,  landed  upon  the  banks  at  Saratoga  and  named 
that  point  Halfmoon.  The  dust  of  Ellsworth  now  reposes  in 
the  town  of  that  name,  upon  the  banks  of  the  river  at  our 
feet,  only  eight  miles  above  the  point  where  Hudson  then 
made  his  landing.  Only  a  few  years  later,  and  in  1620, 
the  Puri-tans  landed  at  Plymouth  rock,  and  from  thence 
westward  advanced  in  their  career  of  moral  conquest. 

From  the  day  when  Champlain  reached  this  country, 
until  the  treaty  made  between  France  and  England,  Feb- 
ruary 10,  1763,  when  the  former  ceded  to  England  all  of 


57 

its  dominion  on  this  continent,  the  valley  of  the  upper 
Hudson,  and  the  soil  of  Saratoga  has  been  the  highway 
over  which  have  marched  and  countermarched  the  armies 
of  freedom.  From  yonder  hills  the  brave  C  >1.  "Williams 
led  his  men  into  the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  where  he  gave 
his  life  for  the  cause  of  our  fathers.  Here  passed  the 
English  in  1755  on  their  way  to  meet  the  French  and 
savages  under  Dieskau  at  Lake  George,  where  the  great 
battle  was  fought  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  near  the 
point  where  the  waters  divide  and  flow  northerly  into  the 
St.  Laurence,  and  southerly  into  the  Kew  York  bay. 
He  also  passed  in  1758  the  army  of  Abercrombie  of  17,000 
soldiers  on  their  way  to  attack  the  French  at  Ticonderoga. 
In  sight  of  this  place  for  years  the  brave  men  from  J^ew  Eng- 
land passed  on  their  way  to  join  in  the  strife  of  this  great 
warfare  which  has  done  so  much  to  advance  the  cause  of 
civilization.  During  that  century  and  a  half  our  sparse 
population  were  schooled  in  the  armed  conflict  to  determine 
whether  the  Protestant-English  or  the  Catholic-French 
should  be  the  dominant  power  on  this  continent.  As  the 
consequence  of  that  experience  only  a  few  years  later  the 
infant  colonies  threw  off  the  foreign  yoke  and  declared 
their  manhood  July  4,  1776,  just  167  years  after  the  arrival 
of  Champlain,  the  first  white  adventurer  in  this  wilderness. 

On  the  19th  day  of  September,  1777,  our  armies  met 
those  of  the  mother  country  under  Burgoyne,  at  Stillwater, 
and  that  great  battle  which  turned  the  tide  of  the  war  in 
favor  of  the  colonies  was  fought  upon  this  range  of  hills 
within  eight  miles  of  the  place  where  we  stand  to-day 

Thus  for  nearly  two  days  the  soil  of  Saratoga  was  con- 
secrated by  blood  freely  shed  in  the  cause  of  human 
progress,  while  the  hardy  sons  of  native  ore  were  being 
purged  into  patriots  and  freemen. 

To  show  the  value  of  the  institutions  which  Ellsworth 

gave  his  life  to  save,  it  may  be  interesting  to  compare  this- 

country  now  with  what  it  was  ninety  years  ago  at  the  close 

of  the  revolutionary   war.     Then  the    whole  nation  had 

8 


58 

about  three  millions  and  now  it  has  forty  millions  of  people. 
Then  New  York  state  had  but  about  three  hundred  thou- 
sand; now  it  has  over  iive  millions.  Then  Saratoga  county 
had  only  about  three  thousand,  while  now  it  contaius  the 
happy  homes  of  over  fifty  thousand  people. 

The  monument  wo  this  day  dedicate,  stands  in  full  view 
of  the  great  channels  of  travel  and  commerce,  and  within 
twelve  hours  ride,  reside  more  than  eight  millions  of  people, 
whose  virtue  and  intelligence  are  unsurpassed  by  any  other 
nation  or  people  upon  the  globe.  Such  was  the  place 
where  our  hero  first  saw  the  light  of  day.  Such  is  the 
place  upon  the  banks  of  the  noble  Hudson  where  his  ashes 
repose,  and  upon  these  Halfmoon  heights,  the  affection 
and  patriotism  of  the  nation  have  erected  this  monument, 
and  as  remembrances  of  the  life,  the  services  and  the 
martyrdom  of  the  heroic  dead.  By  this  act  may  we  con- 
secrate ourselves  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  justice,  and 
remember  that  the  institutions  that  he  gave  his  life  to  sustain 
can  only  be  perpetuated  by  educating  ourselves  and  our 
posterity  to  be  just,  and  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  that 
they  should  do  unto  us. 

Lincoln  loved  Ellsworth  as  he  did  his  own  child,  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  coincidence  that  one  should  be  the  first  and 
the  other  the  last  martyr  of  the  war. 

Ellsworth  was  inspired  with  a  great  purpose,  although 
it  was  never  fully  revealed  to  him.  By  his  example,  his 
life  and  his  death,  he  accomplished  more  for  the  cause  of 
freedom  than  he  could  by  a  true  life  of  four  score  years. 
His  life  was  not  a  failure.  He  was  predestined  for  the 
mission  he  made  full,  and  his  name  is  rightly  written  in 
the  highest  niche  of  fame. 

The  following  lines  were  written  by  Gen.  Bullard's  wife 
for  the  occasion. 

We  gather  here  this  day  to  proffer 

A  slight  memento  for  the  brave ; 
The  best  our  hearts  could  offer 

Would  be  poor  for  such  a  grave. 


J9 


'Tis  not  gold  or  gilding, 

That  giveth  lasting  fame  ; 
The  true  heart  unyielding, 

To  wrong,  oppression,  shame. 

The  hardest  stone  may  crumble, 

Throughout  long  ages  rust ; 

The  tallest  pile  may  tumble, 

And  mingle  with  the  dust. 

Not  so  with  the  martyred  dead, 
The  centuries  make  more  bright, 

For  truth  with  their  names  are  wed, 
And  handed  down  in  light. 

The  fleeing  years  keep  adding  to 

The  lustre  always  bright ; 
And  Ellsworth  of  the  chosen  few, 

Hath  climbed  the  highest  height. 

He  fought  not  for  the  spoils  of  war, 

But  saw  work  to  be  done ; 
His  body  bore  the  bullet's  scar, 

He  gave  his  life  and  won. 

On  this  lofty  slope  the  wind  harp  plays 
High  music,  deep,  profound  ; 

The  tall  grass  to  its  time  doth  sway, 
O'er  Ellsworth's  hallowed  mound. 

To  view  the  ground  where  martyr  lies, 
'Tis  naught  but  common  clay  ; 

Yet  he  lives  beyond  the  skies 
Centuries  as  a  day. 


FUNERAL    SERMON, 

Delivered  at  Bryan  Hall,  Chicago,  June  2,  1861. 


BY  REV.    Z.    M.    HUMPHREY. 


"  Iii  perils,  among  false  brethi-en."  —  II  Cor.,  xi,  20. 

The  significance  of  this  expression,  as  illustrated  by  the 
event  which  has  brought  this  assembly  together,  is  too 
obvious  to  require  one  word  of  mine.  I  will  not  detain 
you,  then,  my  friends,  by  carrying  your  thoughts  into 
Asiatic  cities,  when  they  so  naturally  turn  towards  the 
American  Alexandria.  I  will  not  speak  of  traitors  in  the 
church, -when  you  are  thinking  only  of  traitors  in  the  State. 
I  will  not  speak  of  an  Apostle  delivered,  while  you  are 
thinking  of  a  Patriot  dead.  You  have  come  hither  to-day 
upon  a  sad,  but  honorable  errand.  You  have  come  with 
martial  music,  but  the  strains  we  have  heard  were  those 
of  a  requiem.  You,  soldiers,  have  brought  your  cherished 
banners,  but  they  are  draped  in  mourning.  It  seems  but 
yesterday  that  we  were  watching  a  lithe  and  active  figure 
as  it  led  this  company —  a  company  of  which  we  all  were 
proud  —  through  the  complicated  evolutions  of  its  drill. 
The  echoes  of  the  quick,  decisive  words  of  command  seem 
even  yet  to  be  ringing  in  our  ears,  but,  alas !  the  voice 
that  uttered  them  is  hushed  forever,  and  to-day  the  country 
mourns  because  her  gallant  Ellsworth  is  dead. 

To  realize  it,  is  not  easy.  We  know  that  slaughter  is 
the  trade  of  war,  but  assassination  is  only  one  of  its  infre- 
quent incidents,  and  it  is  difficult  to  comprehend  that,  with- 
out the  exposure  of  a  battlefield,  the  work  of  war  has  been 
wrought  upon  him  whose  memory  we  are  assembled  here 


61 

to  honor,  as  effectually  as  if  he  had  fallen  at  the  cannon's 
mouth,  or  in  storming  some  "imminent  and  deadly  breach." 
"We  have  all  read  the  story  of  his  death.  Let  us  endeavor 
to  make  the  event  seem  real  by  imagining  the  scene.  First, 
picture  to  your  minds  a  tent  in  the  camp  —  the  full,  soft 
moon  reveals  every  outline  of  ita  exterior,  while  within  sits 
a  manly  form,  bending  over  a  table,  on  which  materials 
for  writing  are  laid.  Lift  the  curtain,  and  you  see  an  expres- 
sion of  tenderness  on  the  face  of  the  occupant,  and,  perhaps, 
a  tear  glistening  in  his  eye,  as  the  pen  in  his  hand  rapidly 
traces  those  messages  of  love,  which  the  true  soldier,  with 
a  conflict  before  him,  always  wishes  to  send  to  the  absent. 
Then  picture  a  fleet  of  transports  dropping  down  the  Poto- 
mac, as  the  heavy  gray  of  dawn  begins  to  dim  the  stars. 
Then,  the  debarkation,  conducted  under  the  level  light  of 
the  rising  sun.  Then  imagine  a  group  of  soldiers,  with 
Ellsworth  at  its  head,  looking  up  from  a  street  in  Alexan- 
dria towards  some  object,  the  sight  of  which  arouses  the 
strongest  emotions  in  those  who  behold  it.  It  is  the  flag 
of  treason,  floating  like  a  baleful  meteor  of  tri-colored  train 
above  the  house,  where,  in  Revolutionary  days,  our  Wash- 
ington was  accustomed  to  repose.  Next,  see  the  little  group 
upon  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  clustered  about  the  flag- 
staff'. The  hand  of  Ellsworth  is  on  the  halyards  —  down 
comes  the  defiant  bunting  —  it  is  gathered  into  the  arms 
of  the  leader.  There  is  but  one  more  scene  to  fancy.  It 
is  within  the  house.  The  group  of  soldiers  are  on  the 
stairs,  descending  towards  the  street.  First  goes  a  private, 
then  the  commander  bearing  his  captured  trophy.  The 
private  has  reached  the  floor.  Two  or  three  steps  behind 
him  is  the  officer.  Quick  as  thought  a  half-dressed  form 
rushes  from  a  darkened  passage.  A  gun  is  presented  at 
the  breast  of  the  officer.  It  is  fired  !  There  is  another  ex- 
plosion—  then  another,  followed  by  the  instantaneous 
thrust  of  a  bayonet,  and  both  Ellsworth  and  his  murderer 
are  dead.  See  them,  both  on  their  faces,  one  staining  with 
blood  the  symbol  of  treachery  he  still  holds  in  his  arms, 
the  other  still  clasping  the  weapon  by  which  that  blood  was 


62 

shed.  Behold  them,  and  say,  would  you  be,  at  this  moment, 
the  patriot  or  the  assassin,  both  rushing  together  into  the 
presence  of  their  God  ? 

My  friends,  we  have  no  coffin  before  us  to-day.  There 
is  no  pale  face  to  convince  us  by  its  marble  coldness  and 
inflexibility,  that  he  whose  memory  we  embalm  is  dead. 
Do  we  need  it,  when,  to  our  shuddering  spirits,  such  a  scene 
is  revealed  ? 

Let  us  linger  upon  that  scene  no  longer ;  but,  turningfrom 
it,  try  to  do  a  partial  justice  to  our  honored  dead,  by  tracing 
swiftly  the  history  of  his  life;  by  forming  some  estimate 
of  his  character;  and  by  unfolding  some  of  the  more  ob- 
vious thoughts  suggested  by  his  brief,  but  brilliant  career. 

In  the  town  of  Malta,  Saratoga  county,  New  York, 
is  a  low-browed  cottage,  which,  but  for  some  associated 
event,  would  scarcely  challenge  the  special  attention 
of  the  stranger ;  but  that  cottage  is  destined  to  be  known 
and  respected,  while  it  stands,  as  the  birth-place  of  Elmer 
E.  Ellsworth,  the  patriot  martyr  of  Alexandria.  Like  a 
majority  of  those  whose  names  the  world  "  will  not  willingly 
let  die,"  he  was  cradled,  not  in  luxury,  but  in  rustic 
simplicity,  and  he  was  early  enured  to  those  habits  of  manly 
self-dependence  by  which  he  was  subsequently  distin- 
guished. 

The  history  of  his  childhood  and  school  days  is  as  yet 
unwritten,  but  we  know  that  his  martial  tastes  were  de- 
veloped at  an  early  period.  It  has  been  stated  that  a  part 
of  his  education  was  obtained  at  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  but  this  I  believe  is  a  mistake.  He  came  to 
Chicago  in  1855  for  peaceful  purposes,  thinking  more  of 
machinery  than  military  tactics,  but  he  had  not  long  been 
a  resident  of  this  city  before  he  became  identified  with  its 
military  interests,  and  was  soon  favorably  known  for  his 
soldierly  qualities  throughout  the  State. 

Soon  after  the  Crimean  war,  he  became  acquainted  with 
a  French  Zouave,  and  through  him  obtained  a  knowledge 
of  the  peculiar  tactics  of  this  modern  style  of  soldier.  He 
soon  became  convinced  that  this  system  of  tactics  could  be 


63 

adapted  to  the  American  mind  and  muscle  with  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  service  in  some  of  the  exigencies  of  war ; 
and  on  making  the  experiment  he  soon  achieved  a  success 
whose  brilliancy  has  never  been  paralleled  in  the  history 
of  our  citizen  soldiery  in  time  of  peace.  Of  that  success  I 
do  not  need  to  remind  you.  I  need  not  speak  of  the  tri- 
umphal march  made  by  his  command  through  the  Eastern 
States  last  summer.  We  all  felt  that  that  march  was  an 
honor  to  our  city,  and  when  upon  the  return  of  the  corps, 
it  was  announced  that  they  were  immediately  to  disband, 
we  felt  a  regret,  something  like  that  with  which  we  would 
see  a  beautiful  and  perfected  instrument  broken  in  pieces  — 
something  like  that  with  which  we  should  see  a  statue 
dashed  into  fragments  j ast  as  the  sculptor  has  received  the 
crown  from  an  admiring  world.  Then  came  the  reaction  , 
and  we  were  tempted  to  say  "  What  is  all  this  worth  ?  Hav  e 
we  been  admiring  merely  a  martial  show  ?  Have  we  been 
only  amusing  ourselves  like  children  gazing  at  flamingoes  ? ' ' 
But,  almost  before  we  had  ceased  to  express  our  disappoint  - 
ment  over  what  seemed  to  be  wasted  effort  and  useless 
pageantry,  we  were  startled  by  the  cry,  "to  arms  !"  with 
which  our  long  and  flattering  peace  was  broken.  Then 
we  saw  for  what  high  purpose  these  Zouaves,  almost  un- 
consciously, had  been  fitting  themselves,  and  when  Col. 
Ellsworth  began  to  collect  his  regiment  from  among  the 
firemen  of  New  York,  we  felt  that  no  step  in  his  work  had 
been  in  vain.  It  is  safe  to  say  that,  although  his  system 
has  not  been  formally  adopted  by  military  authorities  of 
our  country,  it  has  modified  all  our  military  operations. 
The  spirit  of  our  departed  Ellsworth  will  yet  live  in  the 
influence  he  has  exerted  on  our  armies  ;  it  will  nerve  many 
an  arm  and  direct  many  a  blow  on  the  field  of  battle,  as 
his  name  will  be  the  war-cry  with  which  many  a  soldier 
will  rush  into  the  fray.  It  was  believed,  in  ancient  times, 
that  the  ghosts  of  departed  warriors  hovered  over  their 
still  living  companions  in  arms,  when  they  went  out  to 
fight,  to  lead  and  to  help  them.  It  will  not  be  necessary 
that  the  ghost  of  Ellsworth  should  linger  about  the  camp 


64 

over  which  he  lately  presided,  or  precede  his  late  command 
to  the  contest,  while  everywhere,  in  his  spirit,  his  influence, 
his  military  principles  he  will  live,  though  in  the  person  of 
those  whom  he  has  inspired,  he  be  struck  down  a  thousand 
times.  The  murderer's  bullet  is  enough  to  destroy  all 
that  is  mortal  of  him,  but  no  shot,  nor  shell,  nor  steel  can 
touch  that  life  in  others  which  will  survive  so  long  as  there 
shall  be  a  single  Zouave  to  bring  his  tattered  flag  into  the 
field,  when  the  roll-call  of  his  regiment  is  read  after  the 
contest  is  over. 

In  character,  Col.  Ellsworth  was  richly  endowed  both 
by  nature  and  by  cultivation.  If,  as  was  once  supposed, 
when  the  scarlet  uniform  of  the  Zouave  was  thought  to  be 
a  symbol  of  his  fiery  nature,  to  be  counted  worthy  of  this 
name,  is  to  be  ferocious  as  well  as  brave,  brutal  as  well  as 
dauntless,  a  sort  of  human  tiger,  without  even  the  velvet 
over  the  claws,  then  Col.  Ellsworth  was  no  model  Zouave. 
He  was  brave  to  a  fault.  There  seemed  to  be  no  such  word 
as  fear  in  his  vocabulary,  because  there  was  no  corresponding 
feeling  in  his  heart.  He  was  a  dashing  and  brilliant  officer, 
always  as  ready  to  set  an  example  as  to  utter  a  command ; 
but  his  bravery  was  made  courage — true  royal  courage  — 
by  the  invigorating  influence  of  moral  principle.  It  was 
always  a  prominent  point  in  his  military  creed,  that  the 
effective  soldier  must  observe  the  rules  of  morality  as  well 
as  the  articles  of  war ;  and  his  original  company  of  Zouaves 
put  to  shame  many  a  soldier  of  milder  title,  by  their  rigid 
abstinence  from  vicious  indulgence. 

He  was  distinguished  by  his  power  of  control  over  his 
subordinates.  If  he  was  ever  thought  severe  and  distant, 
his  severity  was  always  praised  in  the  end,  and  his  distance 
only  seemed  to  temper  the  love  of  his  soldiers  with  respect. 
In  discipline  he  was  no  martinet,  yet,  his  discipline  was 
more  perfect  than  if  he  had  been.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
any  mere  martinet  could  have  controlled  the  regiment  he 
raised  in  the  city  of  New  York  as  he  did.  Men  called 
them,  ironically,  his  "pet  lambs."  Whatever  else  is  true 
of  them,  they  followed,  obeyed,  and  loved  him  as  if  they 


65 

had  been  a  peaceful  fold,  and  he  their  shepherd.  The 
tidings  of  his  death  were  received  by  them  first  with  a  storm 
of  vengeance,  then  with  a  softer  rain  of  tears. 

He  was  a  man  of  original  and  independent  mind.  His 
system  of  tactics  was  in  many  particulars  new ;  his  pub- 
lished work  is  not  a  mere  translation  from  foreign  sources. 
Had  he  lived,  he  would  doubtless  have  shown  his  original- 
ity in  the  manoeuvres  of  the  battlefield  and  the  management 
of  the  campaign. 

Added  to  his  other  soldierly  qualities,  was  a  spirit  of  heroic 
self-devotion.  He  was  always  ready  to  sacrifice  his  own 
interests  to  the  cause  he  loved,  and  to  the  country  he  was 
sworn  to  defend.  When  attending  President  Lincoln  on 
his  journey  to  Washington,  he  was  assiduous  in  providing 
for  his  comfort,  and  removing  all  causes  of  danger  or  an- 
noyance. This  was  a  journey  which  he  supposed  might 
be  fraught  with  peril,  and  he  was  heard  to  say,  that  if  it 
became  necessary  to  lay  down  his  life  in  defending  that  of 
the  president  elect,  he  should  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  do 
it.  It  is  significant  that  after  he  had  fallen,  when  his 
clothing  was  removed,  a  patriotic  medal  was  found  hanging 
upon  his  breast  and  stained  with  his  blood.  Some  soldiers 
carry  in  that  sacred  place  a  lock  of  hair  cut  from  some 
dear  head,  or  a  miniature  faintly  portraying  the  features  of 
some  beloved  friend  whose  shrine  is  in  the  heart  which 
beats  beneath  the  picture.  So  might  the  gallant  Ellsworth 
have  done ;  if  he  did  not,  it  was  not  because  his  heart  was 
an  empty  shrine.  We  are  not  told  what  else  was  found 
above  that  heart  when  it  had  ceased  to  beat,  but  this  was 
found  there, —  a  golden  medal  bearing  this  inscription  — 
Non  solum  nobis  sed  pro  patiia. 

Col.  Ellsworth  was  a  man  of  tender  affections  and  quick 
sensibilities.  When  on  the  eve  of  his  tour  to  the  East,  last 
summer,  his  only  brother,  a  member  of  his  command,  was 
attacked  by  a  violent  and  contagious  disease.  Col.  Ells- 
worth watched  over  him  day  and  night  with  incessant  care, 
until  a  proper  regard  for  the  health  of  his  command  forced 
9 


66 

him,  at  their  solicitation,  to  refrain ;  and  when  at  length 
the  brother  died,  and  I  was  called  to  attend  his  funeral,  I 
found  no  stoical  mourner  beside  the  coffin,  nor  in  the  tears 
then  shed  could  I  find  the  mockery  of  grief.  And  when 
I  read  that  letter  written  by  the  surviving  son  to  his  parents, 
on  the  evening  before  that  fatal  day  in  Alexandria,  closing 
with  these  tender  words  : 

"  My  darling  and  ever  loved  parents,  good  bye.  God 
bless,  protect  and  care  for  you," 

I  was  reminded  of  a  remark  which  he  dropped  at  his 
brother's  funeral,  when  expressing  his  grief  at  his  loss,  be- 
cause they  had  come  together  to  this  city,  hoping  to  provide 
an  evening  home  for  their  aged  parents.  Those  parents 
are  destined  to  close  their  eyes  upon  the  world  in  the  same 
brown  cottage  which  has  sheltered  them  so  long.  There 
will  be  no  stalwart  arm  to  bear  them  up  when  the  grass- 
hopper becomes  a  burden,  but  when  they  come  to  totter 
along  the  path  which  leads  from  the  cottage  to  the  grave- 
yard, looking  first  at  the  empty  cradle  where  the  babe  once 
lay,  and  then  at  the  turf  beneath  which  the  man  reposes, 
they  will  have  this  to  console  them,  that  they  gave  birth 
to  a  hero,  and  that  it  was  no  small  part  of  his  nobility  that 
he  loved  them  so  well. 

It  will  console  them,  too,  to  think  that  his  religious 
sensibilities  had  not  been  destroyed  by  contact  with  a 
selfish  world  or  an  irreligious  camp.  They  will  often  read 
over  and  think  over,  when  memory  has  taken  the  words 
into  her  keeping,  those  precious  lines  in  that  last  letter, 
written  when  the  premonition  of  death  fell  like  a  shadow 
athwart  the  page : 

"  Whatever  may  happen,  cherish  the  consolation  that  I 
was  engaged  in  the  performance  of  a  sacred  duty :  and  to- 
night, thinking  over  the  probabilities  of  the  morrow  and 
the  occurrences  of  the  past,  I  am  perfectly  content  to  accept 
whatever  my  fortune  may  be,  confident  that  He  who  noteth 
even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  will  have  some  purpose,  even  in 
the  fate  of  one  like  me." 

It  is  said  by  his  companions,  that  when  his  brother  lay  sick 


67 

in  the  armory,  lie  was  seen  repeatedly  to  kneel  beside  his 
bed  in  prayer ;  that  he  would  rise  in  the  night  again  and 
again,  and  seeming  to  forget  that  others  were  near,  would 
break  out  into  earnest  and  audible  petitions  to  God  for 
the  life  of  his  brother.  In  saying  this,  I  am  not  claiming 
that  he  was  faultless.  I  offer  no  decision  as  to  his  religious 
character  as  judged  by  Him  before  whom  the  heavens  are 
unclean;  but  this  I  will  say,  that  he  was  not  one  of  those 
who  think  it  unbefitting  the  soldier  to  look  out  sometimes 
into  the  mysterious  future  ;  who  regard  prayer  as  a  mock- 
ery, and  trust  in  God  as  a  sentimental  delusion. 

Believing  as  we  do  in  an  overruling  Providence,  there  is 
something  mysterious  in  his  death.  Had  the  list  of  all  our 
military  officers  been  laid  before  us,  and  had  we  been 
directed  to  run  the  pen  through  the  name  of  him  who  could 
best  be  sacrificed  at  Alexandria,  surely,  surely  we  should 
not  have  obliterated  the  name  of  Ellsworth.  And  had  that 
name  been  blotted  for  us  by  some  prophetic  pen,  and  the 
mode  of  his  death  had  been  left  to  us,  we  should  have  chosen, 
last  of  all,  that  he  should  perish  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin. 
"We  would  have  put  him  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  and 
had  him  cheer  on  his  soldiers  to  some  glorious  achievement. 
We  would  have  had  him  fall  as  the  gallant  Wolfe  fell  on 
the  heights  of  Abraham,  while  the  glad  shout,  "They  ily, 
they  fly,'"'  should  resound  in  his  dying  ear.  But  God  has 
taught  us  that  He  can  spare  whom  we  cannot,  and  that 
there  is  "  glory  "  enough  in  a  patriot's  death,  though  it 
come  not  upon  the  scarlet  field. 

To  us  his  life  seems  to  have  gone  out  at  its  brilliant  be- 
ginning. It  was  like  a  rocket  bursting  at  the  commence- 
ment of  its  flight,  when  it  bids  fair  to  touch  the  stars.  God 
has  taught  us  that  He  can  afford  to  have  some  brilliant 
lives  go  out  when  they  have  but  begun.  To  us  it  seems 
that  had  he  lived  he  would  have  made  a  most  accomplished 
general.  God  is  teaching  us  that  His  instruments  may 
sometimes  be  more  effectual  by  breaking  in  His  hand,  just 
as  He  begins  to  use  them.  We  look  mournfully  over  the 
laud,  and  ask  who  will  take  the  place  of  Ellsworth  at  the 


68 

head  of  bis  wild  brigade.  "Who  will  carry  out  the  system  he 
had  so  ably  inaugurated  ?  But  God  is  teaching  us  not  to  be 
too  anxious  for  the  future,  by  the  calm  serenity  with  which 
He  strikes  the  knell  of  those  whom  men  value  most,  when 
the  inevitable  hour  is  come. 

Possibly  we  mayyet  be  able  to  see,  when  the  tangled  skein 
of  future  providences  shall  have  been  smoothed  into  the 
straighter  lines  of  history,  precisely  how  his  death  was  of 
more  use  to  his  country  than  his  life  could  have  been.  Al- 
ready we  see  how  profoundly  it  has  stirred  the  patriotic 
feeling  of  the  land.  Since  the  blood  of  Massachusetts  red- 
dened the  streets  of  Baltimore,  nothing  has  occurred  which 
has  so  contributed  to  rouse  and  consolidate  an  already 
united  North.  Had  Ellsworth  fallen  in  battle,  he  would 
have  been  but  one  of  many,  and  the  attention  of  the  coun- 
try would  have  been  divided  by  a  long  and  bloody  list. 
The  bulletin  would  have  read,  perhaps, "  Alexandria  is 
taken  and  a  hundred  lives  were  lost."  Now  it  reads,  "  Alex- 
andria is  taken  and  Ellsworth  is  dead."  And  history  will 
perpetuate  it  thus:  "On  the  24th  of  May,  Alexandria  was 
taken  and  Ellsworth  was  slain."  Like  the  single  cardinal 
flower  in  the  meadow,  drawing  all  eyes  to  itself,  the  name 
of  Ellsworth  will  glow  like  an  ensanguined  spot  upon  the 
historic  page,  and  thus  it  may  turn  out  that  we  shall  unite 
in  saying  that  it  was  not  only  better  for  his  country  but 
more  glorious  for  himself  that  he  alone  should  die. 

Soldiers !  there  are  no  "  chances  "  in  war.  There  are 
sudden  deaths;  there  are  fearful  wounds.  There  is  pesti- 
lence stealing  into  a  tent  at  midnight,  as  well  as  cannon 
shot  dashing  through  solid  columns  in  the  day.  Before 
either  of  them  the  soldier  may  fall,  but  he  deceives  him- 
self who  talks,  when  he  enlists,  of"  taking  the  chances  of 
war."  I  heard  of  a  clergyman  who  prayed,  not  long  since, 
that  every  bullet  might  have  its  billet,  and  so  carry  the 
message  of  death  to  the  traitor's  heart.  Every  bullet  has 
its  billet,  whether  it  rushes  from  the  rifle  of  the  patriot  or 
of  the  traitor,  in  this  important  sense,  that  all  things  arc 
ruled  or  overruled  by  God.     Fear  not,  then,  when  you  go 


69 

forth  to  the  contest,  if  you  are  called  beneath  the  sulphurous 
curtains  of  the  battle,  lest  by  a  sudden  death  the  great  pur- 
poses of  your  life  should  be  broken  off.  Your  purposes 
may  be,  but  not  God's  purposes  respecting  you.  As  in 
the  case  of  the  lamented  Ellsworth,  the  full  circle  of  life 
may  be  rounded  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  and  when  that 
circle  is  swept,  be  it  sooner  or  later,  it  is  time  for  us  to  die. 
If  it  be  the  will  of  God  that  you  should  perish  amid  the 
providences  of  w&v,  I  could  not  ask  that  you  be  spared,  though 
we  should  miss  you  and  mourn  for  you.  But  I  can  ask, 
and  will,  that  you  may  be  prepared  to  die,  by  repentance 
toward  God  and  faith  in  his  dear  Son.  Then  we  can  dis- 
miss you  without  a  fear,  for  then  to  give  up  your  life  for 
your  country  will  be  but  to  march  in  triumph  through  the 
gates  of  bliss.  We  may  not  be  permitted  to  welcome  you 
back  with  a  laurel  wreath,  but  Christ  shall  welcome  you 
with  a  starry  crown. 

Let  us  all  pledge  ourselves  anew  to-day,  to  our  country 
and  to  our  country's  God.  On  this  holy  Sabbath  —  in  this 
hall,  where,  to-day,  the  altar  of  worship  is  erected  beside 
the  altar  of  liberty,  while  these  faces  of  the  long  line  of 
the  presidents  of  these  United  States  —  which  we  hope  to 
keep  uuited  yet  —  look  down  upon  us,  let  us  pledge  our- 
selves anew,  by  the  memory  of  Ellsworth,  to  our  country 
and  our  country's  God  ! 


"  Dulce  est  pro  Patria  mori." 

ORDER   OF   EXERCISES 


OBSEQUIES  OF  THE  LATE  COL.  E.  E.  ELLSWORTH, 

In  Bryan  Hall,  Chicago,  Sunday,  June  2, 1861. 


\  r,sIIkw@iii  Hepies,"'  hj  III  Mgk%  iiifi  Band, 

Composed  expressly  for  the  occasion  by  A.  J.  Vaas. 

Invocation, By  Rev.  R.  H.  Clarkson. 

Music  "by  the  Choir. 


Dread  Jehovah  !  God  of  nations  ! 

From  thy  temple  in  the  skies, 
Hear  thy  people's  supplications, 

Now  for  their  deliverance  rise. 

Tho'  our  sins,  our  hearts  confounding 
Long  and  loud  for  vengeance  call, 

Thou  hast  mercy  more  abounding, 
Jesus'  blood  can  cleanse  them  "all. 


Let  that  love  vail  our  transgression  ; 

Let  that  blood  our  guilt  efface  ; 
Save  our  nation  from  oppression, 

Save  from  spoil  our  chosen  place. 

Lo  !  with  deep  contrition  turning, 
Humbly  at  thy  feet  we  bend  ; 

Hear  as,  fasting,  praying,  mourning, 
Hear  us,  spare  us,  and  defend. 


Prayer, By  Rev.  Dr.  Tiffany. 

Music, By  the  Choir. 

I  would  not  live  alway  ;  I  ask  not  to  stay 

Where  storm  after  storm  rises  dark  o'er  the  way  ; 

The  few  lurid  mornings  that  dawn  on  us  here, 

Are  enough  for  life's  woes —  full  enough  for  its  cheer. 

I  would  not  live  alway  ;  no,  welcome  the  tomb, 
Since  Jesus  has  lain  there  I  dread  not  its  gloom  ; 
There  sweet  lie  my  rest,  till  He  hid  me  arise. 
To  hail  Him  in  triumph,  descending  the  skies. 

1  would  not,  live  alway,  away  from  my  God, 

Away  from  yon  heaven,  that  blissful  abode  ; 

Where  tin-  rivers  of  pleasure  How  o'er  the  bright,  plains, 

And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns. 

Where  the  saints  of  all  ages  in  harmony  meet. 
Their  Savior  and  brethren  transported  to  greet  ; 
While  the  anthems  of  rapture  unceasingly  roll, 
And  the  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul. 


4.  Sermon, 

5.  Music, . . . 


By  Rev.  Z. 


M.  Humphrey. 
.   By  the  Choir. 


My  country  !  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  Liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing  ; 
Land  where  my  fathers  died  ; 
Land  of  the  Pilgrim's  pride  ; 
From  every  mountain  side, 

Let  Freedom  ring. 

My  native  country  !  thee, 
Land  of  the  noble  Free, 

Thy  name  I  love  ; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  lulls  ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills, 

Like  that  above. 


6.     Benediction, 

GEN.  R.  K.  SWIFT, 


Marshal. 


Let  music  swell  the  breeze, 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  Freedom's  song ; 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake, 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake  ; 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break, 

The  sound  prolong. 

Our  father's  God  !  to  Thee, 
Author  of  Liberty  ! 

To  Thee  we  sing  ; 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  Freedom's  holy  light, 
Protect  us  by  Thy  might, 

Great  God,  our  King. 

By  Rev.  Paul  Anderson. 

S.  SEXTON, 

l'res.  of  the  Day. 


APPENDIX. 


RECEPTION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

To  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  Reception 
of  the  President  Elect. 

Gentlemen  : 

Being  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  the  safe  con- 
duct of  the  President  elect,  and  his  suite  to  their  destina- 
tion, I  deem  it  my  duty,  for  special  reasons  which  you  will 
readily  comprehend,  to  offer  the  following  suggestions  : 

First:  The  President  elect  will  under  no  circumstances 
attempt  to  pass  through  any  crowd  until  such  arrangements 
are  made  as  will  meet  the  approval  of  Col.  Ellsworth,  who 
is  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  all  matters  of  this 
character,  and  to  facilitate  this,  you  will  confer  a  favor  by 
placing  Col.  Ellsworth  in  communication  with  the  chief  of 
your  escort,  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  train. 

second  :  arrangement  of  carriages  : 

First  Carriage, 

The  President  Elect, 

Col.  Lamon,  or  other  Members  of  his  Suite, 

One  or  two  members  of  the  Escort  or  Committee. 

Second  Carriage, 

Col.  E.  V.  Sumner,  U.  S.  A., 
Maj.  D.  Hunter,  U.  S.  A., 
Hon.  N.  B.  Judd,  of  Illinois, 
Hon.  David  Davis,  of  Illinois. 


72 

Third  Carriage, 

Col.  E.  E.  Ellsworth, 

Capt.  Hazzard, 

John  G-.  Nicolay,  Esq.,  Private  Secretary, 

Member  of  the  Escort. 

Fourth  Carriage, 

Robt.  T.  Lincoln, 

John  M.  Hay,  Assistant  Secretary, 

Two  Members  of  the  Escort. 

The  other  members  of  the  suite  may  be  arranged  at 
your  pleasure  by  your  committee  on  the  cars. 

Two  carriages  will  be  required  to  convey  Mrs.  Lincoln 
and  family  and  her  escort  from  the  cars. 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  ROOMS : 

Mr.  Lincoln's  secretaries  will  require  rooms  contiguous 
to  the  President  elect. 

A  private  dining  room  with  table  for  six  or  eight  persons. 

Mr.  Wood  will  also  require  a  room  near  the  President 
elect,  for  the  accommodation  of  himself  and  secretary. 

The  other  members  of  the  suite  will  be  placed  as  near 
as  convenient. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  committee,  a  list  of  the  names 
of  the  suite  arranged  in  their  proper  order  is  appended. 

Trusting,  gentlemen,  that  inasmuch  as  we  have  a  com- 
mon purpose  in  this  matter,  the  safety,  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  the  President  elect,  these  suggestions  will  be 
received  in  the  spirit  in  which  they  are  offered. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  Obedient  Servant, 

W.  S.  WOOD, 

Superintendent. 


73 


CALL  TO  EQUIP  FIRE  ZOUAVES. 

To  the  Citizens  of  ISTew  York. 

A  regiment  of  volunteers,  to  be  composed  of  members 
of  the  New  York  Fire  Department,  and  to  be  commanded 
by  Col.  Ellsworth  (late  of  Chicago  Zouaves),  is  now  forming 
to  aid  the  general  government  in  the  suppression  of 
rebellion,  and  the  citizens  of  New  York  are  earnestly 
requested  to  aid  them,  by  advancing  the  necessary  funds 
to  complete  the  arrangements,  and  provide  the  necessary 
uniforms,  equipments,  &c. 

The  following  named  gentlemen  are  authorized  to  re- 
ceive subscriptions : 

Jno.  Decker,  Chief  of  the  Fire  Department,  21  Elizabeth  Street. 
Win.  H.  Wickham,  President  Fire  Department,  Collins'  Wharf,  foot 

of  Canal  Street,  and  54  South  Street. 
A.  J.  Delatour,  Vice-President,  25  £  Wall  Street. 
J.  R.  Piatt,  Secretary  Fire  Department,  79  Murray  Street. 
Henry   A.   Burr,  President  Board   of  Trustees,  corner    Cliff  and 

Frankfort  Streets. 
Geo.  F.  Nesbit,  Secretary  Board  of  Trustees,  corner  Pearl  and  Pine 

Streets. 
John  S.  Giles,  Treasurer,  34  Elizabeth  Street. 
Zophar  Miles,  Trustee,  144  Front  Street. 
A.  F.  Ockershausen,  Trustee,  21  Rose  Street. 
James  Y.  Watkins,  Trustee,  16  Catherine  Street. 
James  Kelly,  32  Chambers  Street,  and  21  Irving  Place,  Treasurer. 
Henry  B.  Venn,  384  Bowery. 

David  Millikin,  Ex-President  of  the  Fire  Department. 
William  Wright,  of  Maitland  &  Co.,  65  Beaver  Street. 
John  A.  Gregier,  Mercantile  Insurance  Co.,  65  Wall  Street. 
Owen  W.  Brennan,  88  Elm  Street. 

A.  F.  Ockershausen, 

Chairman.  . 

George  F.  Nesbit, 

Secretary. 
10 


74 


ACTION  OF  THE  FERE  DEPARTMENT 

Or  New  York,  1861. 

A  meeting  of  the  Committee  recently  appointed  by  the 
Fire  Department  to  superintend  the  equipment  and 
departure  of  the  First  Regiment  Fireman  Zouaves,  (Col. 
Ellsworth,)  was  held  at  the  Astor  House  yesterday  after- 
noon, A.  F.  Ockershausen  acting  as  chairman.  The 
following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted : 

Whereas,  This  Committee  (who  so  recently  aided  in 
raising  and  organizing  the  above  regiment,  to  go  forth  in 
defence  of  our  Constitution,  our  Union  aud  our  Flag), 
having  learned,  with  deep  sorrow,  of  the  death  of  Colo- 
nel Ellsworth,  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and 
while  hauling  down  the  flag  of  traitors,  do  most  deeply 
sympathize  with  his  afflicted  family  and  friends,  and  the 
regiment  he  so  ably  commanded  in  his  lamentable  dis- 
aster. A  gallant,  brave  and  energetic  officer  has  fallen 
in  his  Country's  cause,  and  the  State  and  the  Nation 
mourn  his  loss,  therefore 

Resolved,  That  this  Committee  will  attend  the  funeral 
obsequies  of  the  late  Col.  Ellsworth,  and  they  invite  the 
Trustees,  the  President  aud  officers  and  ex  officers,  the 
Fire  Department  generally,  to  join  in  carrying  their 
respects  to  the  soldier  who  chose  to  command  a  regi- 
ment of  the  New  York  Firemen,  and  has  proved  himself 
worthy  of  the  trnst  reposed  in  him. 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  six  from  this  body  be 
appointed  to  proceed  to  Washington,  to  take  charge  of 
the  honored  remains,  and  escort  them  to  this  city,  or 
such  other  place  as  the  family  and  friends  of  the  deceased 
may  designate. 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  five  be  appointed  with 
power  to  make  such  arrangements  as  they  may  deem 
necessary  upon  the  receipt  of  the  remains  in  the  city. 


75 

The  Committee  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  body 
on  its  arrival  in  the  city,  organized  by  the  appointment 
of  A.  Delatour,  No.  25|  "Wall  street,  as  Chairman,  and 
James  Kelly,  Receiver  of  Taxes,  Secretary. 

The  following  gentlemen  comprise  the  Committee  of 
arrangements  :  John  Decker,  Chief  of  the  F.  D.,  Henry 
B.  Vera,  Henry  A.  Burr,  Zophar  Mills,  James  G-.  "Wat- 
kins,  and  Geo.  F.  Nesbitt. 


MEETING  OF  COLUMBIAN  ENGINE  CO.,  NO.  14. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  company,  held  at  the  En- 
gine House,  on  Sunday,  the  26th  inst.,  the  following  pre- 
amble and  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 

Whereas,  This  company,  in  common  with  our  brother 
members  of  the  department,  having  embraced  the  idea 
of  forming  a  Zouave  regiment,  feel  peculiar  pride  in  the 
remembrance  of  the  tact  that  the  gallant  Col.  Ellsworth, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  wore  upon  his  breast  the  badge 
of  this  company,  which  had  been  solicited  by  him  from 
one  of  our  members.     Therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  three  be  appointed  from 
this  company  to  wait  upon  the  Board  of  Fire  Commis- 
sioners, and  solicit  from  them,  that  the  badge  of  the  Fire 
Department,  which  Colonel  Ellsworth  wore  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  be  presented  to  his  father. 

Resolved,  That  they  also,  be  solicited  not  to  issue  a 
badge  of  the  same  number,  in  order  that  it  may  remain 
through  all  time,  a  silent  testimonial  of  heroic  daring,  and 
departed  worth. 

Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  bereaved 
parents  of  Colonel  Ellsworth,  and  fondly  hope  and  trust 
that  their  loss  may  prove  his  gain. 


76 


THE  PALL  BEARERS  OF  COL.  ELLSWORTH. 

Hon.  Hamilton  Fish, 
John  Jacob  Astok,  Jr., 
Gen.  Prosper  M.  Wetmore, 

Union  Defence  Committee. 

Col.  Edward  Hincken, 

Col.  Fred  Townsend, 

Col.  Wm.  H.  Allen, 

Col.  Asboth, 

Robert  T.  Hawes,  Comptroller  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

Wm.  H.  Wickham,  President  of  the  Fire  Department. 

Henry  A.  Burr,  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

John  Decker,  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department. 

Wm.  M.  Tweed,  Commissioner  of  the  Fire  Department. 

George  F.  Nesbit, 
Zophar  Mills, 
James  Kelly. 

Zouave  Fireman  Com. 


ELLSWORTH'S  FUNERAL  IN  TROY— THIRTEEN 
YEARS  AGO. 

[FROM  THE  TROY  TIMES,  MAY  27,  1861.] 

The  remains  of  the  gallant  soldier  arrived  here  about 
11  o'clock.  They  were  brought  upon  the  steamer  McDonald, 
which  was  draped  in  mourning,  attended  by  the  Troy  com- 
mittee, the  guard  of  honor  detailed  from  Washington  to 
escort  the  corpse,  committees  from  the  New  York  fire 
department  and  common  council,  Albany  firemen  and 
zouaves,  several  citizens  of  Albany,  and  the  following  gentle- 
men who  were  specially  detailed  by  President  Lincoln  to  ac- 
company the  deceased  to  Mechanicville:  Augustus  Haight, 
Washington;  Col.  J.  II.  Stover,  New  York;    Hon.  E.  C, 


77 

Lamed,  S.  F.  Gale  and  L.  Boomer,  Chicago.  The  body 
was  dressed  in  a  full-dress  uniform,  and  was  contained  in 
a  splendid  rosewood  coffin,  which  was  beautifully  decked 
with  evergreens.  The  sword  and  cap  of  the  deceased  lay 
upon  the  coffin.  The  body  was  received  at  the  foot  of 
Liberty  street  by  the  Troy  military,  firemen,  common 
council  and  citizens.  The  docks  were  lined  with  people, 
all  manifesting  the  most  solemn  and  heartfelt  sympathy 
with  the  occasion.  After  a  delay  of  about  half  an  hour, 
caused  by  some  misunderstanding  as  to  the  position  of 
some  of  the  companies,  a  procession  was  formed  as  follows : 

Gen.  Allen,  marshal. 

Police  of  Troy,  uniform  caps  and  black  clothes. 

Doring's  baud. 

Troy  City  Rifle  Company. 

Columbian  Guards. 

Republican  Guards. 

"Wool  Guards. 

Jackson  Guards. 

Cohoes  and  Waterford  Millitary. 

Albany  Zouave  Cadets,  "A"  Co.  10th  Regt.  K  G.  S. 
N.  Y.,  with  drum  corps. 

Troy  City  Artillery. 

Col.  Lawton. 

Hearse,  drawn  by  four  splendid  black  horses,  flanked 

by  Engine  Company  No.  1  and  Troy  Citizens' 

Corps. 

Lieut.  Laflin  and  Private  Boies  of  Ellsworth's  Chicago 
Zouaves. 
Guard  of  honor  from  Ellsworth's  Fire  Regiment,  in- 
cluding Francis  E.  Brownell. 

Carriages  containing  father  of  deceased  and  New  York 
committee. 

Gen.  Wool  and  staff. 


78 

Officers  of  Col.  Frisby's  Regiment. 

Troy  and  New  York  Common  Councils 

Carriages  with  committees. 

Schreiber's  band,  Albany. 

Delegation  of  Albany  Firemen. 

Engine  Company  No.  2. 

Washington  Volunteers. 

West  Troy  Fire  Department. 

Albany  delegation  of  citizens. 

Troy  Drum  Corps,  under  command  of  Capt.  Sherman  of 
Ellsworth's  Chicago  Zouaves. 

The  procession  moved  down  Washington  to  Second, 
up  Second  to  Broadway,  and  marched  directly  to  the  depot. 
The  streets  were  lined  with  spectators,  and  it  was  no  un- 
common thing  to  see  ladies  weeping  at  the  windows  as 
the  funeral  cortege  passed.  Corporal  Brownell  rode  upon 
the  seat  of  the  hearse,  and  carried  with  him  the  secession 
flag  for  which  the  brave  Ellsworth  lost  his  life.  Many  of 
his  friends  shook  hands  with  him  during  the  march  to  the 
depot.  The  bells  were  tolled  as  the  procession  moved 
through  the  city,  and  an  air  of  solemn  stillness,  broken 
only  by  the  funeral  strains  of  the  band,  pervaded  the  streets 
through  which  it  passed.  Brownell  lost  a  beautiful  gold 
flag  presented  to  him  by  Hon.  D.  E.  Sickles,  in  New  York, 
but  was  subsequently  so  fortunate  as  to  have  it  returned 
to  him. —  Gen.  Bullard  of  Waterford,  Cols.  Phelps  and 
McKean  of  Saratoga  and  Saxe  of  this  city,  with  the  staff1 
of  Gen.  Allen,  flanked  the  hearse  during  the  march.  The 
hearse  was  drawn  into  the  depot,  and  the  body  was  at  once 
placed  on  board  a  special  train  of  cars  for  Mechanicville. 
The  train  consisted  of  twenty-five  cars,  under  charge  of 
Conductor  McCaffrey,  for  the  conveyance  of  all  who  chose 
to  go  up  and  take  part  in  the  last  sad  rites  of  sepulture, 
and  was  filled  with  nearly  all  connected  with  the  procession. 


79 

All  the  military,  civic  bodies  and  delegations  of  firemen, 
with  engine  company  No.  1,  as  a  body,  attended  the  remains 
to  Mechanicville.  The  demonstration  throughout  was  a 
noble  one,  and  was  worthy  of  the  young  hero.  The  pro- 
cession was  most  imposing,  and  it  was  indeed  grateful 
to  witness  the  depth  of  sentiment  expressed  by  all  classes, 
and  the  generous  regard  which  was  so  cheerfully  mani- 
fested. The  demonstration  was  alike  a  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  deceased  and  the  cause  in  which  he  lost  his  life. 


LETTER  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN". 

The  following  letter  was  written  to  the  father  and  mother 
of  Ellsworth. 

In  the  untimely  loss  of  your  noble  son,  our  affliction  is 
scarcely  less  than  that  of  your  own.  So  much  of  promised 
usefulness  to  one's  country,  and  of  bright  hopes  for  one's 
self  and  friends,  have  rarely  been  so  suddenly  darkened  as 
in  his  fall.  In  size,  in  years  and  youthful  appearance  a  boy 
only,  his  power  to  command  men  was  surprisingly  great. 
This  power,  combined  with  fine  intellect  and  indomitable 
energy,  and  a  taste  altogether  military,  constituted  in  him, 
as  seemed  to  me,  the  best  matured  talent  in  that  depart- 
ment I  ever  knew,  and  yet  he  was  singularly  modest  and 
deferential  in  his  social  intercourse.  My  acquaintance  with 
him  began  less  than  two  years  ago ;  yet  through  the  latter 
half  of  the  intervening  period,  it  was  as  iutimate  as  the  dis- 
parity of  our  ages  and  my  engrossing  engagements  would 
permit.  To  me  he  appeared  to  have  no  indulgences  or 
pastimes,  and  I  never  heard  him  utter  an  intemperate  or 
profane  word.  "What  was  conclusive  of  his  good  heart,  he 
never  forgot  his  parents.  The  honors  he  labored  for  so 
laudably,  and  in  the  sad  end  so  gallantly  gave  his  life,  he 
meant  for  them  no  less  than  for  himself. 

In  the  hope  that  it  maybe  no  intrusion  upon  the  sacred- 
ness  of  your  sorrow,  I  have  ventured  to  address  this  tribute 


80 


to  the  memory  of  my  young  friend  and  your  brave  and 
early  fallen  child.  May  God  give  you  the  consolation  that 
is  beyond  all  earthly  power. 

Sincerely  your  friend  in  common  affliction, 

A.  Lincoln. 


The  following  is  the  draft  of  an  unsigned  letter,  written 
but  not  officially  transmitted  : 

Executive  3tansion,  March,  1861. 
To  the  Secretary  of  War. 

Sir :  you  will  favor  me  by  issuing  an  order  detailing 
Lieut.  E.  E.  Ellsworth,  of  the  1st  Dragoons,  for  special 
duty  as  adjutant  and  inspector  general  of  milita  affairs, 
for  the  United  States,  and,  insofar  as  existing  laws  will  ad- 
mit, charge  him  with  the  transaction,  under  your  direction, 
of  all  business  pertaining  to  the  militia,  to  be  conducted  as 
a  separate -bureau,  of  which  Lieut.  Ellsworth  will  be  chief: 
with  instructions  to  take  measures  for  promoting  a  uniform 
system  of  organization,  drill,  equipment,  etc.,  of  the  IT.  S. 
militia,  and  to  prepare  a  system  of  instruction  for  the 
militia,  to  be  distributed  to  the  several  states.  You  will 
please  assign  him  suitable  office  rooms,  furniture,  etc.,  and 
provide  him  with  a  clerk  and  messenger,  and  furnish  him 
such  facilities  in  the  way  of  printing,  stationery,  access  to 
records,  etc.,  as  he  may  desire  for  the  successful  prosecution 
of  his  duties ;  and  also  provide,  if  you  please,  in  such  man- 
ner as  will  best  answer  the  purpose,  for  a  monthly  payment 
to  Lieut.  E.,  for  this  extra  duty,  sufficient  to  make  his 
pay  and  emoluments  equal  that  of  a  major  of  cavalry. 


81 


GEN.  BANKS'S  LETTER  TO  A  TROJAN  — HIS 
OPINION  OF  ELLSWORTH. 

Gen.  E.  F.  Bullard  of  this  city  (Troy),  has  received  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Gen.  N.  P.  Bauks,  which  explains  itself: 

Boston,  May  6th,  1874. 

Senate  Chamber. 
My  Dear  Sir  :  It  would  give  me  very  great  pleasure  to 
deliver  the  oration  at  the  dedication  of  the  Ellsworth  Monu- 
ment, the  27th  instant,  did  my  engagements  permit.  But 
I  find  it  will  not  be  in  my  power.  I  knew  Colonel  Ells- 
worth well,  and  appreciated  the  heroic  traits  of  character 
which  he  exhibited  in  his  short  but  glorious  career.  I 
regret  deeply  that  I  cannot  join  his  friends  and  admirers 
upon  this  interesting  occasion.  With  most  sincere  thanks 
for  your  kind  remembrance,  I  remain  your  friend,  &c. 

N.  P.  Banks. 
E.  F.  Bullard,  Esq.,  Troy,  N.  Y. 


ELLSWORTH. 

[Mat  24,  1861.] 
by  william  h.  burleigh. 

Who  keeps  his  faith  in  God  and  man, 
By  sore  temptation  unsubdued  ; 
Who  trusts  the  Right  and  loves  the  Good, 

Lives  long  —  however  brief  his  span. 

True  life  is  measured  not  by  days, 

Nor  yet  by  deeds,  though  bravely  wrought 
Its  truest  gauge  is  noblest  thought, 

And  this  commands  our  highest  praise. 
11 


82 


So,  though  men  say,  "  Alas  !  how  brief 

His  course  whose  death  we  mourn  to-day  ! " 
The  prescient  soul  must  answer,  "  Nay  — 

Ye  wrong  him  with  this  bitter  grief." 

What  seems  our  loss  hath  this  redress  — 
His  life,  by  generous  will  and  act, 
No  dream,  but  an  eternal  fact, 

Is  rounded  into  perfectness. 

He  is  —  not,  toas  :  —  the  pulse  that  beat 

But  yesterday  within  his  frame, 

To-day  is  like  a  living  flame 
In  every  manly  breast  we  meet. 

Poured  through   thousand  hearts,  the  life 
That  ebbed  in  his,  asserts  its  sway,- 
An  impulse  that  forbids  delay, 

When  Duty  summons  to  the  strife. 

And  hosts,  by  that  grand  impulse  moved, 
With  eager  haste  their  weapons  clasp, 
And  swear  to  save  from  Treason's  grasp 

The  country  and  the  cause  he  loved. 

So  sanctified  by  martyr-blood, 
To  us  that  cause  is  doubly  dear ; 
And  who,  remembering  him,  will  fear 

To  stand  for  Right  as  Ellsworth  stood  ? 

For  faith  like  his  its  like  begets, 
And  courage,  though  the  hero  die 
Doth  multiply  and  multiply 

In  large  excess  of  our  regrets. 

And  thus  one  soul,  that  never  swerved 
From  duty,  fills  a  land  with  light ; 
And  countless  arms  are  nerved  for  fight 

By  one  strong  arm  that  death  unnerved. 

So,  best  .  .  .  since  so,  the  largest  good 
Results  —  nor  need  we  sum  the  cost, 
For  lives  so  lost  are  never  lost 

To  Freedom  saved  by  martyr-blood. 


83 

For  him,  henceforth  his  country  claims 
The  ground  as  holy  where  he  sleeps, 
And,  like  a  loving  mother,  keeps 

His  name  among  her  dearest  names. 

And  when  Love  bids  his  monument 
Lift  its  pure  column  to  the  air, 
No  fitter  legend  can  it  bear 

Than  his  brave  words  —  "I  am  content  1 " 

"  Content  —  whatever  fate  be  mine  — 

A  sacred  duty  bids  me  go, 

And  though  the  issue  none  can  know, 
I  hear  and  heed  the  voice  divine. 

"  Content — since  confident  that  He 
To  whom  the  sparrow's  fall  is  known, 
Will  have  some  purpose  of  his  own 

Even  in  the  fate  of  one  like  me.  " l 

0  golden  words  !  0  faith  sublime  ! 

0  spirit  breathing  holy  breath  ! 

For  such  an  one  there  is  no  death, 
But  crescent  potencies  through  time  ! 

And  still,  where  loyal  arms  roll  back 
The  crimson  tide  of  traitorous  war, 
His  memory,  like  a  beacon-star, 
Shall  shine  above  the  battle's  rack  — 

A  flame,  the  patriot's  heart  to  cheer 
And  give  new  temper  to  his  sword  — 
A  fire,  to  blast  the  rebel  horde 

And  melt  their  courage  into  fear. 

And  when  —  Rebellion's  power  subdued  — 
Shall  dawn  for  us  a  better  day, 
When  Peace  again  resumes  her  sway 

And  links  the  bands  of  brotherhood  — 


1  In  the  last  letter  addressed  to  his  parents,  penned  but  a  few  hours 
previous  to  his  assassination,  Col.  Ellsworth  says  :  "  Whatever  may  happen, 
cherish  the  consolation  that  I  was  engaged  in  the  performance  of  a  sacred 
duty ;  and  to-night,  thinking  over  the  probabilities  of  the  morrow  and  the 
occurrences  of  the  past,  I  am  perfectly  content  to  accept  whatever  my  for- 
tune may  be,  confident  that  He  who  noteth  even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow  will 
have  some  purpose  even  in  the  fate  of  one  like  me." 


84 


From  North  to  South,  from  East  to  West, 
His  name  shall  be  a  household  word, 
Revered  and  loved  wherever  heard, 

And  treasured  with  our  worthiest. 

So,  for  his  land,  the  good  he  meant, 
Won  in  the  triumph  of  the  Right, 
His  spirit,  starred  with  Heaven's  own  light, 

Once  more  shall  say  — "  I  AM  content  \" 


ELLSWORTH'S  AVENGERS. 

BY    A.     T.OHA    HUDSON. 

Down  where  the  patriot  army, 

Near  Potomac's  side, 
Guards  the  glorious  cause  of  freedom, 

Gallaut  Ellsworth  died. 
Brave  was  the  noble  chieftain  : 

At  bis  country's  call 
Hastened  to  the  field  of  battle, 

And  was  first  to  fall. 

Strike,  freemen,  for  the  Union  ! 

Sheath  your  swords  no  more 
While  remains  in  arms  a  traitor 

On  Columbia's  shore ! 

Entering  the  traitor  city 

With  his  soldiers  true, 
Leading  up  the  Zouave  column, 

Fixed  became  his  view. 
See  that  Rebel  flag  is  floating 

O'er  yon  building  tall ; 
Spoke  he,  while  his  dark  eye  glistened, 

Boys  that  flag  must  fall ! 
Strike,  freemen,  &c. 

Quickly  from  its  proud  position, 

That  base  flag  was  torn, 
Trampled  'neath  the  feet  of  freemen, 

Circling  Ellsworth's  form  ; 


85 


See  hiiu  bear  it  down  the  landing, 

Past  the  traitor's  door, 
Hear  him  groan  !  Oh,  God,  they've  shot  him  ! 

Ellsworth  is  no  more. 
Strike,  freemen,  &c. 

First  to  fall,  thou  youthful  martyr, 

Hapless  was  thy  fate ; 
Hasten  we  as  thy  avengers 

From  thy  native  state. 
Speed  we  on,  from  town  and  city, 

Not  for  wealth  or  fame, 
But  because  we  love  the  Union, 

And  our  Ellsworth's  name. 
Strike,  freemen,  &c. 

Traitors'  hands  shall  never  sunder 

That  for  which  you  died, 
Hear  the  oath  our  lips  now  utter 
Thou  our  nation's  pride. 
By  our  hopes  of  yon  bright  heaven, 

By  the  land  we  love, 
By  the  God  who  reigns  above  us, 

We'll  avenge  thy  blood. 
Strike,  freemen,  &c. 


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